A Soft Place to Land
by corneliastreet
Summary: AU: It isn't at all the life Callie dreamed for herself: a small town waitress trapped in a loveless marriage, working doubles at Monday's Place Diner to pay rent every month and, to her dismay, pregnant with her vituperative husband's child. And then there's the town's brand new OB/GYN—with her blonde hair and blue eyes and dimples—and, really, how could Callie ever resist?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or Waitress!**

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A bead of sweat began its agonizingly slow decent down Callie's forehead, and her nose twitched slightly at the irritant. She released a quick, frustrated breath, strong enough to momentarily blow the dark tendrils of hair that had fallen out of her loose ponytail away from her face, and wiped her temple with her forearm. It was early September and the heat in Sweetwine, Georgia didn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.

Callie supposed that fact shouldn't have surprised her. After all, it was the deep south, and the sweltering weather never seemed to let up until October. So every citizen of Sweetwine—all 3,774 of them—would be doomed to thin, sticky layers of sweat coating their bodies and mosquitos gorging themselves on their blood and the stench of rotting peaches from the orchard up the road for at least another month.

It was a season she knew all too well. She was 29, closing in on 30, and had spent every summer of her life thus far in the little, suffocating town.

Swallowing _that_ particularly unpleasant reminder down, Callie squinted her eyes at the clock on the kitchen wall. 5:38 AM, leaving her 22 minutes before the diner opened. _Plenty of time,_ the brunette thought with a proud smile, as she rested her hands on her hips and admired the pie on the counter before her. Just a few more pecans painstakingly sprinkled on top and her famous chocolate bourbon pecan pie was perfect.

See, baking pies was kind of her _thing,_ and it always had been. She had spent countless hours as a child walled up in the kitchen with her mother, learning everything she knew from her. It started when she was four and was _finally _allowed to pour the sugar after months of begging, and by the time she neared 14 she had perfected her craft and was inventing all sorts of eccentric flavors of her own. Strawberry guava. Deep dish blueberry bacon. Banana cream cheese. And over two dozen more of her original creations.

And, not that she was cocky or anything, but they were _good. _Each day, the diner she worked at—Monday's Place Diner, the only place to grab a bite to eat within miles—would feature a different Callie Moore specially made pie. It drew in regulars daily and was regarded as a bit of a local treasure in their small town.

Today was chocolate bourbon pecan day, a flavor she had invented her senior year of high school, nearly 12 years prior. It had been nearing midnight on a Friday, and she and her childhood best friend were tipsy off of bourbon they had stolen from her dad's liquor shelf. With the smoky-sweet taste of charred oak on her lips, her mind started racing, and the only way she could get it to stop was to bake. And bake she did, for hours, until she and her friend lay drunk on the kitchen floor, giggling and covered in flour and feeding each other bites of Callie's newest invention.

"Callie!" a deep voice barked for her attention, startling the brunette out of the nostalgic haze she had fallen into. She scowled at the man it belonged to, smoothing her hands over her apron and clearing her throat in an attempt to regain her composure. She could be a bit jumpy when frightened. Her heart hammered loudly against her ribcage, even as she was mustering the most carefree looking smile she could manage.

"_Fuck_, Mark, you scared me. Good morning to you too." Mark was her boss, the sole manager of the diner. He was a good ten years older than her, far too crass to ever be considered a professional, and, well, a textbook _asshole_, but in a weird way he was also a friend. Callie liked to think behind the gruff persona there was a decent man in there somewhere.

"Yeah, yeah," Mark waved her off, chewing on the end of a toothpick distractedly. "Get your ass moving, we open in ten. And make that coffee strong enough to chew."

But Callie was already maneuvering through the diner before Mark finished his sentence, propping her finished pie up neatly in its display case. With a piece of gritty chalk, she scratched the words _Chocolate Bourbon Pecan _in her feminine handwriting on the diner's 'Pie of the Day' board. She brewed the day's first pot of coffee and joined her favorite coworker and closest friend, Addison, near the front door, where she was wiping down the glass in preparation for their first customer.

"Morning, Ads," Callie singsonged, with a subtle southern drawl that was uniquely Georgian.

The redhead looked up from her busy work, and her green eyes narrowed slightly, lips pursed together in suspicion at the carefree smile on her friend's face. She knew instantly it was ingenuine. "Morning, Cal. Did ya do it yet?" she pried.

The Latina's grin faded instantly, her vertebrae straightening up in one rigid motion. Her voice lowered to almost a whisper, lest Mark or the other waitresses overhear. "Addison, can you give it a rest already?" she hissed, hands uncomfortably wringing the sides of her apron. "You've been pressing me about this for weeks now."

"Maybe because I'm serious, Cal. And I'm pressing you because I'm genuinely worried, not just to fuck with you," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. Callie hated the tone of Addison's voice. She sounded truly worried, truly _genuine, _which was so unlike the little fireball that it nearly made the brunette nauseous.

Or maybe she really was nauseous.

She held one hand to her mouth and another to her stomach, standing almost statuesque still, willing the wave of nausea to pass. When it finally did, she was pale and clammy, but proud of herself for managing to get through the first hour of the day without vomiting. She ignored the pointed look Addison was giving her, and instead focused on retying her hair up with the yellow ribbon she wore in her hair daily. "Not now, okay?" Callie pleaded tiredly, eyes diverting to the parking lot visible through the front windows. "Good old Richard is here anyway, so we better open up." And with a skip she was off, and smiling, and chirping "welcome to Monday's Place, darling, what can I get started for you?" in the sweetest voice to the familiar faces trickling in, as if her life wasn't teetering on the borderline of collapse. She had gotten so good at putting on a show for the customers. Smiles meant tips and tips meant Luke was less likely to come home angry. These days, avoiding angry days was her biggest focus.

She stopped in front of Richard, an elderly man that happened to be one of their most loyal regulars. He was in every morning, like clockwork, with the daily paper, and Callie knew his order by heart. She still let him say it every morning though, because she was pretty sure he liked to. He was bossy and a little rude and a horrible tipper, but the Latina had a soft spot for him anyway. She waited on him every morning, after the other girls had long ago started refusing to.

"Mornin', Richard," Callie beamed, standing on her tiptoes and pretending to peer over the man's newspaper. "What's the paper got to say about Aries today?"

"You kids and all your damn voodoo magic these days," Richard grumbled, snapping the paper out of the waitress' line of vision. "A bunch of nonsense is what that is, pie girl. Maybe if your generation learned how to grow up, we'd have less of it."

"I think we could all use a little more magic," Callie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Richard never once called her by her name, it was always 'pie girl' or, on special days, 'yellow ribbon'. She thought it was funny, and she was always excited to see which nickname she'd get. She liked riling him up on his long rants, too. She figured he was lonely, and if he needed someone to debate with and gripe at and just… talk to, well, she had nothing better to do. She raised one eyebrow in curiosity, childlike innocence in her eyes. "Well?"

With a deep sigh, Richard flattened his paper out on the table before him. It was already on the astrological column, just like it always was. Because he always gave in and read her horoscope to her every morning. It was part of the game. "Aries," he grumbled, straining his eyes over his glasses to read the small text. "Your thoughts are emotionally charged, Aries, but you'll find that this can be used to your advantage. You have a great deal of knowledge at your disposal, and you aren't afraid to throw in a little drama just for the fun of it. Your dramatic flair will take you far on a day like today. Don't hesitate to get exactly what you want."

Callie shot him a grin. "I've decided I want a million bucks. Wanna split it fifty-fifty?"

Callie swore she almost saw him start to _laugh_, but as quickly as it came it was gone again. "I wanna get some damn food is what I want. And why is it so hot in this god forsaken dump? Tell that sorry excuse of a boss of yours to turn the air on," he demanded, bossy as ever, eyes narrowed in accusation. Callie nodded gently, raising her pencil to her pad to take his order, though she knew she didn't really need to. It was the same every day. "I want two eggs, scrambled, and a piece of toast, but on a different plate, not touching. And a cup of coffee. But bring it after my meal. And a water before my meal. Make sure the coffee's steaming. And make sure the water's not too cold. Hurts my teeth." He turned his head to the pie of the day board, narrowing his eyes. "And a slice of your chocolate bourbon pecan pie. A good slice, too. Don't you try and gyp me."

Callie smiled patiently at the patron, nodding her head, kind as ever. "Coming right up, Richard. Be sure to read up on your horoscope too. You're a Virgo, y'know," a cheeky wink and she was gliding away to her next table before he could start up another rant. She really did enjoy his company, as strange as it was. She had taken his order nearly every morning for close to eleven years and knew little about the man other than his name. He apparently never bothered to even learn hers, but that was fine. She had grown used to being invisible. Smile, sprinkle in some southern _bless your hearts_ and _how do you dos_, and go on your way. A carbon copy of an old routine.

The hours passed in a blur, as they normally did during a particularly busy shift. Sweetwine was small, but Monday's Place was the only diner in the area that was clean _and_ had decent food, so it was always crowded by Sweetwine standards. It was even kind of cute, in the old-fashioned neon lights, checkered floors, and red booths kind of way.

The place hadn't changed since before Callie had been born. Sometimes when she sat at the booth in the corner, she felt like she was 15 again, sitting across from her best friend over milkshakes and working on their chemistry homework together. Callie had always ordered strawberry with extra cherries, and she had always gotten vanilla with marshmallows. _God, _she had loved marshmallows, and donuts, and sugar in general, really. And chemistry. She was so smart, she always ended up tutoring Callie in all of her science classes. They'd study until they couldn't focus anymore, then scrap together their last quarters to play Etta James or The Supremes on the old jukebox and dance together until past their curfews.

Glancing over her shoulder to ensure no one was watching, Callie lightly brushed her fingertips over that very jukebox, a sad smile ghosting over her lips. It had broken long ago, and now only remained in the diner for decorative purposes. But, god, what she wouldn't do to hear it play _My Girl_ just one last time. That had always been her favorite.

A loud bell jingled, signaling the front door opening. She closed her eyes briefly, mustering the energy within herself to plaster a smile on her face. She was exhausted and her body ached. She had been on her feet for over five hours without a single moment to herself, but she supposed that was a good thing. Kept her mind from wandering too far, like it had just done.

She whipped around with her signature grin, pearly whites that had everyone wrapped around her finger, and a friendly "welcome to Monday's Place" was already halfway out of her mouth when her mind registered who the customer was. Her smile faltered on instinct and she rushed to correct it, clearing her throat softly. "Luke, honey, what a surprise." Her eyes drifted from the tall man, his flannel darkened with dirt and sweat, to the clock on the wall. It was only 12. He wasn't supposed to be off work until 5. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't see my wife?" he asked, his southern accent thick. He wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of his forehead and looked Callie up and down, before plopping himself down at one of the empty tables. "Where's my kiss?"

Callie forced a tight smile, leaning in to kiss her husband gently on the cheek. She had married Lucas Moore ten years prior, when she was 19, after knowing him for under a year. She had been young and on her own and he had promised her the world, so she said yes, desperate for some kind of family or financial stability. She hadn't imagined the decision would lead her here, in a loveless marriage, stuck in her hometown and working doubles at the diner every week to provide for them. "Of course you can, I'm sorry. I'm just surprised is all." She began pouring him a cup of coffee and preparing him a plate of pie, cringing internally when he propped his feet up on the table she had just cleaned. "How was work?"

"Work was shit. My boss is a dick. Said he's cutting my hours 'cause I was late too many times," Luke scoffed, as if the idea was completely outrageous. "I mean, can you believe that shit? Me? I'm the guy's best worker!" He stuffed his mouth full with a bite of dessert, not bothering to chew before he finished talking. "Well, he's a dumbass. He'll see."

Callie felt her stomach lurch at the news, but she tried her hardest to keep her face neutral. "He will see. I'm sorry, baby," she offered sympathetically. She chewed on the inside of her cheek in an attempt to keep herself calm, her eyes fleeting around the diner and briefly connecting with Addison's. She looked at her sympathetically, then turned back to the table she was cleaning. "I, um, I really do need to get back to work now, sweetie, but I-" she was interrupted by a firm, strong hand on her wrist, pulling her closer to him. She flinched instinctively, but all he did was dip his hand into her apron pocket, fishing around for the cash tips she had made that day.

"What'd you make me?" he grunted, pulling out a small wad of cash. He looked visibly unhappy with what he found. "This it?"

"Yes," Callie answered meekly, biting her lower lip and adverting her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll try, um… I'll try to do better."

"You better," he said lowly. It felt like a warning. It probably was one. He shoveled his last bite of pie into his mouth and stood up, giving Callie's ass a slap. "Be good, and I'll see ya at home." He narrowed his eyes at her, scraping them up and down her body in examination. "Are your tits getting bigger?" He questioned, nodding his head toward the pie on the counter. "Maybe lay up on the sweets, baby," he laughed. And then he was kissing her and then he was leaving and then, in a whirlwind, Callie was on her knees in the bathroom, emptying her stomach into the toilet in front of her.

Because her body _was _starting to change. And she _had _been getting sick for weeks. And she really couldn't ignore it for much longer. She splashed her face with cold water and washed up, startling a bit when a sharp knock sounded on the bathroom door. "Cal?" a familiar voice called. Addison. The brunette sighed and wordlessly unlocked the door, but she didn't make an effort to open it for her friend.

Not that she needed to. Within seconds, the redhead was in the cramped bathroom with her, pulling a little pink box out of her apron. She had bought her a pregnancy test, Callie realized, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment. "Come on, honey, you've waited long enough. It's better to know," Addison said, handing the box over to her friend. There wasn't a single ounce of judgment in her green eyes, just genuine support. It made Callie feel a little better. "It'll all be alright."

Callie sighed in defeat. She knew she had little choice at this point. She scratched at the box with her painted forest green nails, pulling the stick out and scrunching her face up. "God, Addison, how'd I get myself into this mess?"

Addison tilted her head curiously, arching a manicured eyebrow. "I thought you didn't sleep with Luke much anymore?" She turned to face the wall, giving Callie as much privacy as she could in the tiny washroom.

A humorless laugh reverberated off the tile walls. "I don't. It was only one night, and I had on that stupid red dress. He got me drunk, and I do stupid things when I'm drunk, like sleep with my husband."

"Oh, I love that red dress! It goes so well—"

"Really not the point here, Ads."

She grinned. "Okay, well, maybe it'll still only be one line. Maybe his machinery's broken somehow? Maybe his swimmers aren't—"

"I'm already panicked. I just… I can't believe this. I never wanted this. One night and my whole life is ruined."

"Don't go there, Callie," Addison sighed, squeezing her eyes shut at her failed attempt to distract the Latina. "Not yet anyway. We don't know what the test says." She clicked her tongue against her teeth, turning around once Callie had finished up and was washing her hands. Just three minutes until they finally knew. For better or worse, at least the wondering would end. "If it makes you feel any better, I think Derek is cheating on me. Again."

Callie pressed against the bathroom wall, staring up at the ceiling as she waited for the painfully slow three minutes to tick by. "I'd ask why you're even still married to him at this point, but we both know I'm the last person that should be talking." Which earned a laugh from Addison. She lowered her gaze from the ceiling to look at her friend, brown eyes softening. "You really do deserve better though."

The redhead shrugged, gesturing to the cramped space between them. "I think both of us deserve a little more than this, but it is what it is." She hesitated, then reached out to take Callie's hand. They were close and trusted one another, but it was incredibly rare that they were sentimental or serious like this. "Even if it's positive, Cal, you could still leave him. You could crash with me and Derek for a little while, get back on your feet…"

Callie shook her head, willing herself to push away the tears prickling at her eyes and pulling her hand out of the pale woman's grip. "He would never let me leave him. He'd just… find me. And besides, he takes every penny I earn, I could never save up enough to even afford my own pair of shoes, let alone an entire _life_. Not without him noticing."

Before Addison could argue, the alarm on her phone echoed loudly, making them both jump. The test was ready. Callie paled several shades and ran her hands over her face. There was no turning back now.

She held the small test in her hands, brown eyes focusing on the two lines before her.

_Shit._

She felt green eyes on her, but she couldn't say anything. What could she possibly say? She had an unwanted little parasite growing inside of her, and any tiny piece of hope she had left for a new life for herself crumbled instantaneously.

_Shit._

She finally worked up the courage to meet her friend's eyes and was disheartened to see the absolute heartbreak and _fear_ in them. Addison knew what this meant for her too.

_Shit. _

Saved by the bell, a loud pounding from the opposite side of the door snapped them both back to the present. Callie shoved the test into her pocket and wiped her watering eyes as Mark yelled, "Ladies! If you could wrap up the slumber party in there, we have customers waiting on your lazy asses." He hit the door one final time before walking away, grumbling.

Addison grabbed her wrist before Callie could open the door. "I'll get an appointment set up for you, okay? So Luke doesn't suspect anything before you're ready."

Callie mustered a pitiful smile. "Thank you, Addison," she mumbled quietly. She meant it. She didn't know what she would do without her friendship. She wiped her eyes one last time, released a shaky breath, and plastered on a smile for the customers before opening the door.

She felt like a puppet sometimes. _Go through your motions, say your lines, wear your costumes, all with that stupid fucking smile on your face._ Again and again and again. Every day. Nothing was wrong. Everything was perfect. The patrons and her boss and her husband and her family would take and take and take much more than she could ever give, but she would smile. She would always smile. _Show them how god damn happy you are._

"Hi, sweetie, welcome to Monday's Place, what can I get started for you?"

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**A/N: Thank you so much for reading my first story! I will continue if anyone is interested, so please leave me a few reviews. Arizona will be introduced formally in the next chapter :)**


	2. Chapter 2

It was barely a quarter past 5 when a sharp tone roused Arizona out of her sleep, the loud noise almost painfully piercing against her eardrums. She whimpered quietly and rolled over in bed, covering her head with her pillow and jabbing her elbow sharply into the side of the woman sharing the bed with her. There was a time, years ago, when she was gentler when waking her girlfriend, but the blonde had very quickly discovered that Lucy slept like the dead. Nine times out of ten, she had to wake her up when the younger woman's pager didn't.

"Turn it off," she whined through clenched teeth. She had at least another 30 minutes of sleep before she needed to get up for her shift at the private OB/GYN office she had been practicing at for a whopping six days total. She was a morning person, but the adjustment to the new patients and place of practice was taking its toll on her, and she was _tired. _She would greedily take every minute of sleep she could.

She longed, momentarily, for the practice she had left behind in Seattle. She missed the friends she had made and the patients she knew well and the unquestioned respect from her coworkers.

_And the weather,_ Arizona thought with a scowl, kicking the sheets off of her warm body and pulling her long hair away from her neck. She had forgotten how hot Georgia was even when approaching autumn.

Beside her, Lucy scrambled to silence her pager, sitting up in bed and rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Sorry, 'Zona," Lucy whispered, before pushing herself out of bed and moving about their bedroom as quietly as possible, careful to step over the boxes they had yet to unpack as she readied herself for the day.

Arizona had met Lucy Kavanaugh four years prior, when she was still a resident and Lucy was in her first year of medical school at the University of Washington in Seattle. They had hit things off instantly, and it was fun and easy, and Lucy was pretty. Very pretty, even, with straight light brown hair recently chopped to her shoulders and gray eyes and freckles dusting over her cheeks and nose, and flushed, creamy skin.

When Lucy graduated medical school and was matched to the residency program at St. Mary's Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, she asked Arizona to move with her. To which Arizona had hesitated. Because things were just _so good_ in Seattle, and she hadn't been back to visit her home state in over 12 years, so how could she possibly _move_ back out of the blue? She had made excuse after excuse after excuse, for years, to avoid that place. During undergrad, she had been too swamped with internships and volunteer research and preparing for the MCAT to make it home for Christmas or summer break, she had told her parents. By the time she reached medical school, they had stopped asking, settling to fly to wherever she was for the holidays instead to avoid the entire argument altogether.

But then she had seen the sad look in Lucy's eyes when she hesitated, and she immediately felt guilty. Lucy was so good to her and loved her _so _much and on paper, she was perfect. _They_ were perfect. Soulmates, all their friends had said, which would always make Arizona laugh airily and roll her eyes and rush to change the subject.

Besides, she was an adult now. She had changed. Her past was in the past and it couldn't hurt her anymore, she vowed, so there really was no reason to continue running from Sweetwine.

So she had said yes and handed in her notice at Seattle Grace Mercy West, but only after securing the only OB/GYN position open within an 80 mile radius of Lucy's hospital in Savannah. It was a tiny family-owned private practice, just outside of her hometown, whose doctor was retiring after 40 years of faithful service. It all happened so quickly after that. She and her girlfriend signed a lease on an apartment about halfway between the two cities, leaving a twenty-minute or so commute for each of them every morning in opposite directions. Only a few more stray boxes to unpack and they would be entirely settled in.

Arizona fluttered her eyes open and sleepily watched Lucy jump around to get her shoes on and then scramble out their bedroom door in a hurry. She frowned. She really didn't miss the days of her own residency. The tall woman reappeared in the doorway only moments later, purse and a granola bar in hand, and leaned over the bed to kiss Arizona's temple. "Have a good day, Z. I love you."

"Mmm," Arizona mumbled, still half asleep but grinning lazily. "Love you back." The sound of the front door closing was her answer, and the blonde sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she likely wouldn't fall back asleep anytime soon. She was a Robbins, after all, and when she was up for the day she was _up. _She made their bed quickly and took a scalding shower, lathering her hair with a generous palmful of her cherry blossom shampoo. Her hair was currently the longest it had ever been, reaching past her breasts, and as she was lathering Arizona remembered why she had always gotten frustrated and chopped it to her collarbones before. It was annoying and far too time consuming. She made a mental note to get a haircut soon.

She braided the front of her hair back, letting the rest fall loosely around her shoulders, and applied a light layer of makeup. She pulled on a clean pair of scrubs and poured herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee, sitting down in their kitchen nook to read for a few minutes before she left for work. Arizona had always been a bit of a bookworm, even as a child.

She remembered being 7 years old on the playground and telling another girl on the swings that the yellow ribbon in her hair reminded her of _Matilda,_ a book she had recently read and loved because Matilda was small and smart like she was. And when the girl with the yellow ribbon had scrunched her nose up in confusion, Arizona had sat with her for the rest of recess, telling her all about the different books she was reading—from _Matilda _to _Nancy Drew _to her complete index of dinosaur species—and drawing pictures of the most exciting parts with chalk on the sidewalk to help her new friend visualize the pure magic she was missing out on.

That had been their very first day.

Things had fallen together perfectly after that, the way that perfect things always seem to do. Their childhood was filled with playdates and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and pinky promises. Skinned knees and Chuck E. Cheese birthday parties and matching bikes. Chlorinated hair and sunburns and Halloween. They were thick as thieves, never one without the other.

Some nights, Arizona still longed for that simplicity, that innocence and genuine joy, but the knowledge of how their story ended always ruined any little trips taken down memory lane.

With a sigh, she snapped her book shut. She realized she had mindlessly reread the same paragraph four times as her mind wandered off into territories she rarely let it go to. Being in Georgia again was getting to her, and she tried her best to shake the nostalgia off her back. It was childish and impractical to dwell on the past, and a marine's daughter was raised to be anything but.

Grabbing her keys and jingling them against her nails lightly, Arizona decided to head into work for the day early. Maybe she'd even get the office donuts to thank them for welcoming her so warmly during her first week. It really had meant a lot to her, and it helped her transition go at least a bit smoother.

She was particularly fond of her nurse, April. She was a bit… squirrely, sure, but Arizona found it endearing. She had that softness and hospitality about her that was so distinctly southern, and Arizona had found she missed it while up north. She was good at her job, too, which made liking her even easier. She was contemplating inviting the redheaded nurse and the receptionist, Teddy, out for drinks some night because, who was she kidding, she really needed friends. Everyone she had known from high school had long since moved away to start their new lives elsewhere. Not that she really blamed them for getting the hell out.

She pledged to call her mom during her commute today too, to set up a dinner with her parents to catch up and to meet Lucy. She figured four years was probably long enough to wait in a relationship for introductions. Probably too long in most people's eyes, but Arizona was kind of new to dating seriously. She just didn't do it, not since… _Don't think about her, Arizona. _She was more of a serial dater, more of a turn-them-into-a-dripping-moaning-mess-and-leave kind of girl. There were no feelings that way, and everything hurt a lot less. So when Arizona and Lucy kind of fell into a serious relationship on accident, she didn't really know the proper steps to take. Lucy didn't seem to mind, though. The blonde knew that girl would've followed her anywhere for however long, big lovesick puppy dog eyes and all.

She pulled into her parking space outside of the practice, cringing internally at how _wrong_ her new Lexus looked parked next to all of the old pickup trucks and beat up Chevrolets. She used to make fun of people like this version of herself. _Who are they trying to impress in Sweetwine?_ she would whisper into her friend's ear as they walked, and both girls would giggle as they ran away in their dirty shoes, off to the town fields to play a game of softball or tag.

She grabbed the box of (only 11, she would admit, as she had eaten one during the drive) donuts sitting in the passenger seat and scraped her eyes over the quiet small-town street, refamiliarizing herself with it. The magnolia trees lining the curb, the bluebirds loitering along telephone wire, couples on white porches drinking sweet tea. She had known it all so well once. It was all she had known at the time, really.

She entered the small clinic with a warm smile, her lab coat tossed over her arm. "Good morning," the perky woman greeted, placing the box of sweets on the front counter in front of Teddy. "Y'all help yourselves," and she cringed at herself. Less than a week back in Georgia and the _y'all_ had returned full force.

Teddy noticed. "Morning, southern belle," she teased, typing a few notes into the computer in front of her.

Arizona flushed and shook her head, "Shut up," she laughed, pulling her white lab coat on over her scrubs, yanking her long hair out from beneath the collar. "Guess you really can't take the Georgia out of the girl. How many appointments today?"

"Twelve, not too busy."

"That's not so bad for a Friday," Arizona smiled warmly, always the optimist, always the go-getter. She was still getting used to the slower pace and smaller pool of patients in Sweetwine. In Seattle, she sometimes had up to 30 appointments a day and emergency deliveries multiple times per day. She was becoming a bit bored and restless, missing the excitement of the larger city. "Are you busy tonight?"

Teddy's eyes finally lifted from the computer in front of her and she lifted an eyebrow. "I'm flattered, Dr. Robbins, but I really don't swing that w—"

Arizona giggled and rolled her eyes. "I have a girlfriend, Teddy. I was just looking for…" She blushed a little, a bit embarrassed. "I just wanted friends. I'm a very good friend." She nodded firmly, straightening her spine a bit.

Teddy smiled fondly at Arizona, finding her obvious nervousness cute. "April and I are going out for drinks tonight. It's sort of a Friday night tradition. You should come."

Arizona's dimples popped. "That sounds fun! I'll be there," she squealed happily, excited to finally have friends to talk to and spend time with. She loved Lucy and all, but she really, really needed human contact outside of her. "Just know that I don't karaoke," she giggled, before collecting her patients' charts in her arms and bouncing towards the examination room, where her first patient was waiting for her.

For the first time since returning to Sweetwine, Arizona felt herself start to relax. Things were _fine_. She was making friends and the clinic was running smoothly and Lucy was happy. She hadn't seen a single Torres since her return, and the little white house down the street from her childhood home they had once occupied had a brand new family in it. Arizona figured they had moved out of town years and years ago. It disappointed her a little, but it also made her feel significantly less anxious.

Skimming her blue eyes over the chart before her, Arizona went over the basics. 29 years old, 7 weeks pregnant, in for a routine check-up. It'd be a quick appointment, she was sure.

She opened the door with a bright smile. "Good morning, Mrs. Moore," Arizona chirped, too preoccupied with putting on her examination gloves to look up at her patient. "My name is Dr. Robbins, and today I'll be your—" she froze instantly when her eyes raised, nearly dropping the chart in her hands.

Because there, sitting on the examination table with a yellow ribbon in her hair, was _Callie._

Her Callie.

Callie Torres.

Or Moore, she supposed.

_She's married,_ Arizona thought to herself, and she hated the way her heart actually dropped in her chest. _Married with a child on the way_, which hurt even more.

She swallowed thickly, staring at the Latina as if she was looking at a ghost, blue eyes wide. She was still so fucking beautiful, maybe even more so now. Those big brown eyes were staring back at her, lips parted in surprise. Neither woman moved, terrified to speak, terrified to make it real.

Arizona felt small. She was suffocating. She wanted to curl up like a child and hide. Callie was the first and last person that had ever been able to hurt her that way, and deep down she was still so _angry_ about all of it. She wanted to scream and call her names and ask her why she had done what she did twelve years prior.

And another part of her just wanted to hold her.

And another part wanted to kiss her, wanted to pin her to the table and make her moan and scream her name and come unraveled underneath her. She wanted to gain back some of the control Callie had stolen from her all those years ago.

She could feel her cheeks flushing hotly at the memory of Callie wrapped around her fingers, head thrown back and cursing in Spanish.

She blinked a few times and sucked in a breath, attempting to regain her composure. She knew she had to say something, anything, even if it broke them out of their staring match. It felt like razorblades were stuck in her throat as she called her name softly, for the first time in twelve years. "Calliope?"

Smoky brown eyes darkened considerably at the sound of her own name, and she bit down on her lower lip. "Arizona," her voice was huskier than normal, but the blonde remembered that tone well. It was all she could do not to jump her bones then and there, but from the look in Callie's eyes, it appeared she was struggling to contain herself too.

_God damn it,_ Arizona thought to herself. _This was going to be torture._

* * *

**A/N: welllll you've met some more characters. and they've reunited! and with so much tension and so much history. what do you think they're gonna do? what do you think tore them apart in the first place? :) thank you SO much for reading and for leaving reviews, they really inspired me to get this chapter up. i have lots of big plans for this story so i genuinely hope you guys enjoy it and stay engaged. happy weekend guys! **


	3. Chapter 3

Callie outright stared at the woman before her, finding herself at a genuine loss for words.

She looked _stunning_, somehow even more poised and breathtaking than she had been at 18. Long blonde hair—Callie had never seen it so long before—and pink lips and a sharp jaw and, _Jesus,_ those dimples. She was even prettier than Callie remembered. Pretty in the way that kind of knocked the breath out of her.

She felt herself fill with intense pride, despite herself, because Arizona had done it. She was a doctor, just like she had always dreamed of when they were younger. The blonde had always gone on and on and on about her hopes and plans for the future, and Callie had just let her talk, smiling warmly at the passion in her voice and gazing at her, dumb in love.

She swallowed the bile rising in her throat, struggling to find the right words to say. "Where is Dr. Lightner?" she asked, genuinely confused and a little curious. He had been the county's only OB/GYN for years, he had even delivered Callie, for Christ's sake, and she had assumed the appointment Addison set her up for had been with him.

Arizona attempted a smile. "He retired last week. I'm, um, his replacement," she chewed on her lower lip before remembering her professionalism, standing up a little straighter. "And your doctor, I suppose." She hesitated before holding her hand out for Callie to shake, clearly abiding by the _good man in a storm_ moral code her father had drilled into her.

Callie took her hand to accept the friendly handshake, stomach flipping at the electrical current that immediately shot through her veins, lighting her skin on fire for what felt like the first time in a decade. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so much from just a touch, and an innocent one at that.

They both held on for a little too long, then Arizona ripped her hand away and broke eye contact suddenly, staring down at the chart in her shaking hands, eyes scanning over the blood results April had collected. "Um," she cleared her throat quietly, and Callie felt horrible for how shaken the petite woman looked. She knew it took an awful lot to affect the ever stoic, ever smiley Arizona Robbins. "_Mrs. Moore,"_ she said pointedly, as if the words burned her mouth, "it looks like you're 7 weeks pregnant. Congratulations." She finally raised her eyes to look at the Latina again, and she hated herself for smiling at her upon instinct.

But Callie wasn't smiling. She was shaking her head, nose scrunched slightly. "Not congratulations," she corrected, before launching into one of her infamous word vomit marathons. "I mean I'm pregnant, yeah, whatever. Fine. But it's not a happy, yay, super thing." _God, this was embarrassing. _She closed her eyes and sighed, rubbing her temples gently.

"Oh," Arizona frowned despite herself, hating seeing Callie so unsure and _small._ The Callie Torres she had known and loved for so many years had been so full of fire and so unapologetic. She found herself aching to reach out and touch her, to offer even a little bit of reassurance or comfort, but she restrained herself. "Well, there are always options we can look into—"

"Oh, that isn't necessary," Callie rushed to cut her off, cheeks burning red. "Not that I'm against that, I just… I'm having the baby. But please don't congratulate me or anything."

"Okay," Arizona replied gently, deep blue eyes absolutely devouring the woman in front of her. It felt sinful to even look at her, like a decadence too divine for her to indulge in. Every little thing about her was so beautiful. The logical part of her brain was screaming at her to keep things cold and professional, but this was _Callie_ in front of her, and she was certain the soft spot she had for her would never entirely go away. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Callie smiled weakly. Her heart melted a bit at how genuinely worried the blonde looked. "You look really good, Arizona. I mean…" her cheeks blushed even brighter, if that was possible. "I mean you look really happy and I'm proud of you for, you know, the _Dr. Robbins_ thing. I always knew you could do it."

Arizona couldn't hide the affection in her eyes if she tried. All those years and all that hurt was still there—it just felt like it mattered so much less now that they were here, face to face. It felt like all that mattered was Callie. She would drown in her if she could. "Thank you, Calliope," she smiled sweetly, her eyes fluttering across the baby blue dress and white apron she was wearing. She'd recognize the uniform anywhere. "You work at Monday's Place?"

A nod. "I do."

Arizona's dimples popped. "That was always our place," she said dreamily, almost talking to herself more than to Callie. "Remember the first time we went? We were what, 9? And we asked every single waitress who Monday was and why it was his place," she giggled as she reminisced, shaking her head fondly.

A genuine laugh bubbled out of Callie's throat. "No one ever knew. I still don't know. I was hoping employment would get me the inside scoop," she smirked when Arizona rolled her eyes, her demeanor finally relaxing.

"You still bake?" Arizona asked hopefully, her mouth watering a little when she remembered Callie's pies, always so rich and decadent.

"Mhm," Callie answered. "Every day at the diner. I still make your favorite sometimes, too. Marshmallow Mermaid, was it?" She recalled inventing that flavor specifically _for_ Arizona, when they were sixteen. It tasted like pure sugar and was a hit particularly with kids, but Arizona had always been a child at heart.

"The only food I ever loved more than donuts," she grinned. "You'll have to teach me the recipe in case I go another twelve years without seeing you." And there it was, that hurt still inside of her bubbling to the surface, spilling out before she could stop it. She kicked herself mentally for even saying it and quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"It's okay. I guess I deserved it considering the way I…"

"Yeah."

"Yeah," Callie parroted. Another staring match, the tension boiling up once more, then Callie blurted out, "Your accent faded."

"Huh?"

"Your accent," Callie blushed, embarrassed that she had even noticed, let alone mentioned it. "It's not as strong anymore."

"Oh," Arizona's cheeks warmed, touched that Callie had remembered something so small about her. "Yeah. I did undergrad at Brown up in Rhode Island, as you know," her blue eyes looked into Callie's, both women silently acknowledging the bittersweetness of Arizona leaving for college all those years ago. "and medical school at Yale in Connecticut, and my residency was in Seattle, so it was just… a lot of northerners, I guess. But I accidentally said _y'all_ this morning, so maybe it'll make a full recovery," she shrugged, laughing a little bit as she inched closer to the Latina, her intense fear of being close to her slowly subsiding.

Callie's hand reached up and gently tucked a strand of Arizona's hair behind her ear, reveling in how close they were. She smelled sweet, like cherry blossoms and sugar and something else she couldn't quite place. "I've never seen your hair so long. It's pretty," her voice fell to a whisper and her thumb ghosted across her jaw. Arizona seemed to lean into it, savoring the skin to skin contact. _What were they doing?_

"You're pretty," Arizona said simply, as if it was the truest, most obvious thing in the world. Because to her, it was. Callie's cheeks burned and her eyes fell to pink lips, even as they were forming her next words. "I have to—" her breath caught in her throat and she quickly cleared it, stepping back to break the brief physical contact. "I have to perform a pelvic exam." She clenched her teeth, willing herself to gather enough strength to be professional. For Callie's sake and her baby's. She handed Callie a dressing gown and left the room to give her some privacy to change without another word.

Callie sighed and started to peel off her uniform, folding it neatly before covering herself in the medical robe Arizona had provided for her. She laid back on the examination table and stared at the ceiling as she waited for her return, trying her hardest to relax her body and to make her mind just _stop._

But it didn't work.

It felt like her skin had been engulfed in flames. Her heart was hammering against her chest and she felt excitement and joy and that sickeningly sweet feeling of butterflies in her stomach for the first time in years. She finally felt alive, and she would do anything to keep that feeling from slipping through her fingers again. _Anything_.

A soft knock on the door and Arizona was standing before her again, looking much more composed than she had when she bolted from the small room. "I'll be performing a visual exam first, Mrs. Moore, so if you could just lay back. And let me know if you have any questions." She instructed professionally, pulling on a sterile pair of examination gloves and sitting on the stool in front of Callie, watching with darkened eyes as she swung her long, toned legs over the stirrups. She slid her body toward the end of the table and let her knees fall open and Arizona had to physically contain the groan that almost spilled out of her throat. "Everything looks healthy," she said softly, resting a hand flat on Callie's lower abdomen in preparation for the physical portion of the exam.

But she hesitated. For the first time in her medical career, she hesitated.

Because no matter how hard she was trying to compartmentalize, this was still _Callie_ in front of her. And touching her felt like the sweetest cruelty in the world. Her eyes glazed over, glancing up at Callie's face for… she wasn't sure what. Reassurance, maybe.

She was surprised to find Callie's eyes were nearly black, staring down at her with an intensity that made her burn and squeeze her thighs together. "Arizona," Callie husked, her hand sliding gently over the one resting on her stomach. This was stupid, she knew. It was a bad idea and it was sure to make her already pretty terrible situation even worse. But she didn't care, not in the slightest.

Callie peeled the glove off of Arizona's hand, maintaining eye contact and sitting up a little on the table, just enough to pull the blonde closer by the front of her scrubs. "Touch me," she whispered sensually, and Arizona didn't need to be told twice.

She was hovering over the brunette in an instant, all of her carefully constructed caution thrown haphazardly to the wind. Their lips crashed against one another in a sloppy, desperate kiss, teeth nipping hard enough to bruise. Callie's hands found long strands of golden hair, knotting it up beneath her fingers as they made out. They both held to each other tightly, scared the other would slip out of their grasp and disappear forever if they let go.

They broke the kiss momentarily to suck in necessary breaths of air, and Arizona trailed her lips down Callie's jaw and neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses that made the Latina whimper. She tugged on Arizona's shirt, pulling the smaller woman completely on top of her and pushing the lab coat off of her body, discarding it on the floor.

Arizona balanced on top of her former lover, straddling her, and hissed quietly at the friction her knee provided between her thighs. She rolled her hips forward slowly and could feel how wet she was already getting, even through her scrubs. She slid her ungloved hand between their bodies and ran her nimble fingertips through Callie's folds, holding in a guttural moan.

"You're soaked, Calliope," she whispered against her ear, smirking when Callie arched her back off the table and cursed sharply in Spanish. God, she had missed this. She had missed her. She captured the brunette's pillowy lips in another kiss to keep her quiet, her small hand refamiliarizing itself with the pussy it had once had perfectly memorized.

Callie pushed her tongue into her mouth and Arizona gladly allowed it, strumming the woman beneath her's clit with her thumb and giggling breathlessly at the moan it generated. She was moments away from dipping her hand lower, from filling the brunette with her fingers and fucking her, when her pager sounded, echoing off the walls of the tiny examination room.

Arizona jumped, breaking the kiss and stilling her hand's work. She struggled to focus on the words flashing across her pager's screen as Callie busied herself with kissing her neck. "I have to…" she moaned, tilting her head to the side and grinding down against Callie's knee. "I have to take that, I have to go." She sighed in defeat, lips ghosting a final, gentle kiss on Callie's lower lip. Then she was up and off of her, breaking all physical contact. "Emergency C-Section at the hospital," she explained, reaching for her lab coat on the floor and pulling it on, attempting to smooth out her hair. "I'm so sorry," she watched her with apologetic blue eyes, and Callie believed her.

The Latina sat up and covered her lower half, feeling suddenly very vulnerable and exposed. "No, it's okay," she whispered sweetly. "That's definitely more important. Go save a little life," she offered a weak smile and rubbed her eyes.

"We'll, um, we'll get you started on a prenatal vitamin regiment." Arizona promised. She hesitated, then scratched down something quickly on a piece of paper, before tearing it off and handing it to Callie. "My number. In case you have any questions. About, um, the baby," she smiled sheepishly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, visibly flustered. Callie thought it was cute. "And Teddy at the front desk can get your next appointment scheduled."

"Okay," Callie said quietly, dangling her feet from the edge of the table. She kept her eyes trained on them, watching them swing.

Arizona watched her with a sad frown, gently reaching her hand out to touch the brunette's cheek. "Hey," she said softly, thumb ghosting over her cheekbone affectionately. When Callie raised her eyes to look at her, Arizona pressed a kiss to her forehead. She had no idea what had happened in Callie's life in the twelve years they had been separated, but she knew it was enough to put that sad glaze in her eyes, and she hated it. "You can call me about things other than the baby, too," she whispered. "I'm here."

And then she was gone, rushing off to save the world, and Callie buried her head in her hands to ease the headache she felt forming.

_I'm here._

Yes, Arizona was here. And that was exactly the problem.

* * *

**A/N: and the affair begins! our girls have a lonnnng way to go here. thank you so so much for all the kind reviews, they really make my entire day :) i hope everyone is having a happy weekend.**


	4. Chapter 4

Callie pressed her cheek against the bus window, letting the cool glass chill her hot skin. She was an unlucky passenger on the only bus that ran in Sweetwine, knees squeezed together tightly to make room for the large man taking up the seat beside her. The air conditioner had long ago broken, years ago, leaving everyone unfortunate enough to board the public transportation sweating and tilting their mouths toward the small cracks in the windows for a last-ditch attempt at a breath of fresh air.

The heat was making her feel dizzy. Or maybe it was just her mind still reeling from her unforeseen reunion with Arizona, she couldn't be sure. Her former lover's phone number was buried safely in her apron pocket and Callie swore she could feel it almost burning her skin.

She eyed the familiar streets as they blurred past, having them nearly memorized by now. Cherry Street, where the small Catholic church she had attended weekly as a child still stood, still painted all white and unassuming. Maple Lane, where the ever rickety Sweetwine High School, home of the Wolves, had miraculously remained upright for over 100 years. Callie watched as students filtered in and out of the building, proudly adorning baby blue and silver in celebration of game day. She used to paint Arizona's nails blue for her on game days, since the blonde had always been so terrible at it. Dogwood Street, where the old and widowed Mrs. Dorothy opened her fruit stand every morning at 5:05, on the dot. She sat beneath a tacky pink umbrella for shade and sold the town her homegrown blackberries and peaches in the summer, oranges and pears in the winter.

Arizona and Callie had snuck into Mrs. Dorothy's orchard several times after dark during high school. They would gorge themselves on blackberries they couldn't afford until their lips were stained, then they'd kiss each other and lay in the grass and Arizona would point out all of the constellations in the sky to her. _That one's Cassiopeia, _she would say. She was always so mesmerized by the sky and Callie was always so mesmerized by her.

Callie winced as the bus came to an ungraceful stop, the brakes squealing in what sounded like a protest, and she was relieved to see they had reached her stop, just a few blocks from the diner. She stood, uncomfortably shuffling past the man beside her and gritting her teeth when his hands brushed across her lower back. "Thank you, Donna," she called kindly to the bus driver before dismounting from the bus and into the sweltering Georgia heat.

"Take care, child," Donna answered, closing the doors and peeling away from the bus stop.

Callie began her short trek to Monday's Place for her late start on the day, swimming in her own thoughts as she walked.

She had to tell her husband they were having a baby soon, she knew that, but she was scared of the stress it would put him under. Money was already tight, and she was already walking on eggshells around him to avoid making him angry.

She brushed her fingertips absently over a yellow bruise on her collarbone, tucked away and hidden safely beneath her dress.

She would wait to tell him, she decided. At least a little longer, and not before she started to show.

Callie pushed the door to the diner open, the familiar jingle of bells alerting others of her entry. Her eyes immediately fell upon Richard, in his usual booth, with his paper in front of him but no food whatsoever, not even a water. She frowned sharply, eyes flickering to the clock on the wall. It was almost 9 AM, late for him. He was always ready for breakfast bright and early when the diner opened.

She clocked in and made a beeline for the waitresses conjugating in the corner, her eyebrows furrowed. "Has no one helped Richard? I know he's not exactly pleasant, but he's still a paying customer." She kept her voice at a whisper, feeling a bit protective of the grumpy elderly man.

One of the younger waitresses, Jo, shrugged her shoulders and let out a laugh. "We _tried_, Cal. He yelled at us to leave him alone. Said he'd wait for you to get here 'cause you're the only one that can take his order right."

Callie felt herself relax, relieved that the old man hadn't been outright ignored, and it had simply been a case of Richard being Richard. She smiled apologetically at her coworkers and reached for a pencil and notepad, turning on her heel.

"Mornin', sweetheart," Callie smiled sweetly at the ill-tempered patron.

"Morning?" Richard grumbled. "It's damn near afternoon."

It wasn't even 9 yet, but she didn't correct him. "I'm sorry. One of the other girls could've taken your order, y'know," she raised a challenging eyebrow and bit back her smile.

"I don't like the other girls."

"That means you must like me a little bit, huh?"

"Now I didn't say all of that, pie girl," he scolded her, flattening his newspaper on the table in front of him. He waited, and when he was met with silence, he looked at her expectantly. "Well? Ain't you gonna ask?"

"Huh?" Callie asked, a little preoccupied with her racing thoughts, before she realized what he was alluding to. "Oh!" she grinned, genuinely feeling her mood lift a bit. "How's the Aries horoscope looking today?"

Richard shook his head and cursed her underneath his breath. He pulled the paper closer to him, straining his eyes. "Don't get discouraged if it seems like everyone but you is getting a piece of the pie, Aries," he raised his eyebrow at the pie metaphor, clearly finding it amusing. "Your time will come, but it probably won't be today. While you may want to sink into tender feelings and sensitivity, others may want to float on the surface and dabble in fantasy worlds. Feel free to escape in your own world for a while, but don't be surprised if others don't follow."

"I think," Callie smirked, "that the stars want me to eat more of my own pie. You want a big slice this morning? It's Graham Cracker Lemonade day."

Richard scrunched his face, as if trying to decide, but Callie already knew his answer would be yes. "I suppose I do," he sighed. "And I'll take two eggs, scrambled, and a piece of toast on its own plate. Don't let 'em touch. And a cup of coffee, steaming hot."

"After your meal?"

"Yes, and a glass of water before. But no ice, because—"

"It hurts your teeth?"

"Quit interrupting me," he scowled, shifting in his seat and wiping a dribble of sweat off his brow. "But yes. And tell that good for nothing boss of yours to get some air going in here."

"I'll get to it," Callie promised. "And the pie's on me today, for your wait." She bumped her hip against the table cheekily and smiled before turning to help the other customers in her section. She had an excruciatingly long day ahead of her, as she had been picking up as many doubles as possible to compensate for the slack in Luke's paycheck. She was dog tired, running on little sleep and not nearly enough nutrition to satiate the thing growing inside of her, but she was managing the best she could.

Despite her exhaustion, she smiled when she saw Addison, hands full of plates to deliver to tables. Her friend was the only good thing in her life on most days, that and when it was just Callie in the kitchen, molding sugar and butter and flour into a small masterpiece with her bare hands. She altruistically reached for a few of the plates Addison was balancing, filled with banana pancakes and sausage links and steaming grits, to help ease her load. "Here, let me help," she offered kindly.

"Thanks," the redhead said breathlessly, dropping the plates off at tables six and eight with a friendly smile. She turned her head to her taller friend as they migrated toward the kitchen, green eyes meeting brown. "How'd your appointment go?"

Callie swallowed. She didn't want to outright lie, especially not to _Addison_ of all people, but she wasn't sure she could really talk about Arizona right now. Not without wanting to cry or maybe throwing up. "It was alright," she answered nonchalantly.

Thankfully, Addison didn't seem to pick up on her discomfort. Instead she smiled, green eyes lighting up. "Oh! Almost forgot. I got you somethin'." She stood on her tiptoes, reaching for the shelf of cookbooks that lined one of the kitchen walls, pulling down something sloppily covered in Christmas wrapping paper. "And shut up before you say anything about the paper, the elves were all I had."

Callie laughed despite herself, shaking her head and handing the present back to her friend as soon as it touched her hands. "Thank you, Addy, but you know I hate gifts," the brunette protested, and it was true. She hated feeling like she was receiving a hand out. Maybe it made her stubborn or proud, but that was how she had always been, and she was sure it would never change now.

"Good thing it's not _really _a gift for you, then. It's more for Peanut." She pressed the present back in Callie's hand, glaring at her sternly.

Callie scrunched her face up in obvious distaste at the nickname. "Can you stop calling this thing peanut?"

Addison smirked, "Peanut's better than saying _it _and _thing_ like you always do. You do know _it_ is going to pop out as a living, breathing baby, don't you?" When Callie glared at her, the redhead just shrugged nonchalantly, nodding her head toward the gift in her hands. "C'mon, open it."

Sighing in defeat, Callie glanced over her shoulder to insure they were alone, then proceeded to tear off the green and red paper covered in cartoon elves. She came face to face with a decent sized book, coated in pastel colors and adorning a delicately painted baby lion on the cover. She almost let out a laugh at how cheesy it was. "A baby book? Really?"

"Isn't it cute?" Addison gushed. "It's got places to put your sonograms and baby pictures and foot prints and all of their birth stats," she grinned, flipping through the pages to show Callie. "And look at this page. _Dear Baby. _So they can read what you wrote to them when they're older."

"I don't think my baby will ever be interested in reading what its plain old mama has got to say," Callie rolled her eyes, though she secretly found Addison's enthusiasm touching. _I'm going to be a pseudo-aunt, _Addison had exclaimed just a few days prior. _It's my job to be excited enough for the both of us. _"But thank you, Ads. Super cute. Very touching," the Latina closed the book and slid it back onto the shelf with the cookbooks, hidden in plain sight.

"I, um… I got you something else, too." Addison reached into her apron pocket and retrieved a piece of folded paper. She unfolded it and smoothed out the crinkles to the best of her ability, revealing an infographic with a giant pie on it, before holding it out for Callie to look at.

"A pie contest?"

The redhead nodded. "I stole the flier off a telephone pole outside the gas station. It's in December in Atlanta," she bit down on her lip, praying internally that Callie wouldn't immediately write off the idea. "It's a $50 entry fee and a $25 bus ticket there, but I figured if you could save up enough to get there you'd be sure to win."

"That's a sweet thought, Addison, and very flattering, but—"

"The grand prize is $25,000."

And _that_ finally caught Callie's attention. Because twenty-five thousand dollars was enough, more than enough, to leave Luke and to build a new life for her and her baby with.

Which was the thing she wanted most in the world.

She reached for the flier, skimming her eyes over the words carefully. "You really think I could?"

"I know you could, Callie," Addison said gently, a reassuring smile adorning her lips. It was so nice having someone that genuinely, wholeheartedly believed in her, and Callie felt her eyes start to sting a little bit. _God damn hormones. _"I can half my tips with you for a few weeks too, if it helps, 'cause I know how hard it is to keep money from him. You can always just pay me back after you kick everyone's asses and—are you _crying?_"

"Yeah," Callie's lower lip wobbled a little and she pulled her friend in for a hug, a rare occasion for the two. "I am."

"Shit," Addison teased, even as she hugged the brunette just as tightly, rubbing her back to comfort her. "You're turning soft on me."

Callie rolled her eyes and pulled away, wiping the tears off her cheeks and sliding the refolded flier into her apron, right next to Arizona's number. _Your time will come_, the horoscope Richard had read to her this morning claimed. Maybe it was true. Maybe there was a light at the end of this tunnel, and maybe it looked like blue eyes and $25,000.

The deafening clangor of pots and pans being smashed against one another made both women jump, and Addison turned sharply on her heel to glare at the source of the disturbance. Mark stood in the doorway, grease towel thrown over his shoulder and a sour look on his face. "I hate to break up the make out session, ladies, but you're on company time here," he grunted.

"You wish, pig," the fiery redhead hissed, rolling her eyes sharply before sauntering back to work. The two were always at one another's throats, and Callie wondered some days how Addison managed to keep her job with the way she talked back to their boss.

Callie rubbed her sleepy eyes and willed herself to muster enough energy for the 14-hour shift before her. The newfound sliver of hope that had wormed its way into her heart, however small, had put an extra spring in her step, and she found herself straining a little less to greet each of her customers with a smile.

* * *

"I think this is the first time I've seen Dr. Sweetheart not… perky. Or smiley," Teddy critiqued with a raised brow, eyeing the doctor that sat in the dirty booth across from her.

"Seriously, 'Zona," April chimed in, words a little slurred from being tipsy. "Everything alright over there? We aren't annoying you that much, are we?"

The three girls had arrived at the Silver Dog Saloon, one of Sweetwine's three bars, a little over an hour ago. April and Teddy had immediately started on shots, and both women were already buzzing and warm from the tequila, giggling at every little thing.

Arizona was still sipping on her first glass of white wine, quiet and pensive, mind elsewhere.

She raised her eyes to look at her new friends, offering a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. "No, no, I'm sorry. You guys are great," she ran her hands through her long hair, pulling it over her shoulder and adjusting in the booth. She sat with her knees to her chest, chin resting atop them like a child. "I'm sorry for being a downer. Today was just hard," she brushed it off.

"You can talk to us about hard stuff, you know," Teddy prodded. "That's kind of what friends are supposed to be for."

"Yeah!" April hiccupped and giggled, ordering a round of three shots this time. "And for buying drinks when we talk about the hard stuff."

Arizona felt a ghost of a smile on her lips, grateful she had met people who seemed so genuinely kind at work. She had gotten lucky, she knew. She crinkled her nose at the shot glass placed in front of her, but she licked salt off of her hand and let the warm tequila slide down her throat and eased the burn with the slice of lime, anyway. _Might as well,_ she thought.

She thought about her words carefully. She didn't want to reveal too much right away and risk the girls thinking of her as the new crazy unprofessional doctor that hooked up with her patients, not when they were just getting to know each other. "I saw my ex today."

Both of the women's faces immediately contorted in sympathy. "Oof," April empathized.

"She was my best friend, too, long before we dated," she ran the tip of her finger around the rim of her wine glass, focusing her eyes on it. "I met her when I was seven. And I realized I loved her at our Junior prom." She smiled to herself at the memory. "I went with my friend Alex from my AP Biology class, and her date was some guy from the football team, but we spent most of the night together instead. We snuck out to the bleachers and I kissed her for the first time that night."

"Bad breakup?" Teddy gently encouraged her to keep talking when she became quiet.

"The worst," Arizona confirmed. "It was obviously a _long_ time ago. 12 years ago now, I think. But I really expected to spend the rest of my life with her." She reached for her glass and took a swig of it, staying curled up in the booth, staying small.

"What changed?"

"We were supposed to move together," Arizona confided, her face sad. "To Rhode Island. I had a full ride scholarship to Brown, and she was supposed to go to culinary school in the same city, and it would have worked out so perfectly. But then she…" Her eyes developed a glazed, distant look to them, and she shook her head softly, not really wanting to remember the last day she had seen Callie back then. She couldn't think about the words the Latina had said. It hurt too much, even now. "It doesn't matter. But we broke up and I haven't seen her since. Until today. So, it was hard."

"I can imagine," April said softly, eyebrows furrowed with genuine sadness for the blonde before her. She hadn't known Arizona long, but she was always so full of joy and life, and April wanted to protect that part of her, wanted to help nourish it. It was precious and rare, especially in a town full of so much misery. Arizona had brought light with her arrival.

"She's married," Arizona frowned, finishing off her glass of wine and signaling for a second. "And I didn't think it would surprise and hurt me so much, especially after so long, especially when I have a girlfriend, but it did." She shrugged. "And I just missed her. Just being around her, really. Listening to her talk, watching the way she moves. It's like," she paused to sip her new glass of wine, "it's like I'm this high strung, high energy, type A control freak all of the time. And then she's next to me and I'm finally calm. And no one has ever done that to me before."

Arizona realized then that she had been rambling and her cheeks flushed hot. She cursed herself for being a bit of a lightweight and cleared her throat, smiling wide enough to ensure her dimples flashed. "But I'll get over it, especially if Friday night girls night becomes a tradition."

Teddy and April smiled warmly at their newest friend, ordering another round of shots for the table before pulling the blonde onto the dance floor. All three women could tell this would be the start of a very special, very beautiful friendship.

* * *

Callie's body physically _ached _as she clocked out of the diner, finishing up her double shift as it neared midnight. She wasn't sure how much longer her body could withstand the heavy workload.

She stepped into the hot Georgia night, the sound of crickets and frogs filling the air, and she began her walk toward the bus station by herself. It was dark outside, lit only by the moon, a few neon signs, and the rare streetlight, and it made her feel a little uneasy. She kept her eyes trained to the ground, stepping over dandelions in sidewalk cracks to distract herself from her nerves.

She jumped sharply at the sound of a dog rustling through the garbage for food. She huffed, irritated with herself for being so jumpy all of the time, and looked down at the small to-go order of French fries Mark had let her take for dinner. "Here, boy," she whispered to the dog, dumping about half of the fries on the ground for the stray to eat. She didn't have much of an appetite anyways, and he wolfed it down in seconds.

She continued her short walk to the station, fishing around in her pocket for the small outdated flip phone she kept for emergencies and to call Luke on occasion. She hesitated, then pulled out the piece of paper Arizona had given her earlier that morning, dialing the number and pressing call before she could change her mind.

Arizona was likely already asleep, she figured.

She was surprised when she picked up after the third ring. "Hello, this is Dr. Arizona Robbins," a soft voice answered, and Callie furrowed her brows. Her tone sounded weird, a little groggy and blurry. Had she been sleeping?

"Hi," she said dumbly, mind going blank as she searched for something, anything to say. "It's Callie. Sorry for calling, I know you were probably asleep."

Callie could hear shuffling on the other side of the phone, as if Arizona was sitting up straight in bed. "I wasn't asleep," Arizona admitted, and Callie could hear the yawn the blonde tried to stifle. "I was in bed though. I just got home not too long ago. I went out with a couple of friends."

That was why her voice sounded different. She was tipsy. Callie bit her lip, taking a seat on the bench as she waited for her bus. "I'm sorry. I'll let you get to sleep."

A quiet laugh came from the other line and it made Callie's chest ache. "Stop apologizing, Callie. I gave you my number for a reason. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Callie answered truthfully. "I'm just waiting for my bus, and it's late and dark and I'm—"

"You're scared."

"I'm scared, yes."

"Well," Arizona chirped, and Callie could hear the smile in her voice. She really was just pure sunshine. "Then I'll stay on the phone with you until you're safe and unscared."

Callie laughed, feeling the tension in her shoulders start to ease a bit. "Thank you."

"Mhm." There was a moment of silence, and then, "I'm so sorry about this morning."

Callie felt her heart drop a bit, and she couldn't have stopped the frown on her face if she tried. "You regret it?"

"Regret isn't the right word," Arizona said, clicking her tongue against her teeth. Callie couldn't see her, but she was sure her eyes were closed, the way they always were when she was searching for her words. "But it really shouldn't have happened. You're my patient and I'm responsible for you and you were vulnerable—"

"I'm not _vulnerable,_" Callie argued, keeping her eyes trained on the moths that danced around the streetlight above her bench. "I instigated it, even. You don't have to treat me like some fragile, broken thing. I knew what I was doing."

She could hear Arizona suck in a breath, surprised by the fire in her tone, no doubt. "I didn't mean it that way, Callie."

"I wanted it. You."

A pause.

"I wanted it too."

Another pause. How could they have tension like this over a phone call? It made her press her thighs together, and the humidity in the outdoor air suddenly felt unbearable. She rushed to change the subject. "I really didn't expect to ever see you in Sweetwine again. I guess it all just overwhelmed me."

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't expect to come back either. I avoided this place for years."

"What changed your mind?"

"My…" Arizona started, and Callie could tell instantly from the shift in the blonde's tone what she was about to say. She steeled herself for the impact of the words, hoping it would make them hurt less. "My girlfriend. She's a resident at St. Mary's in Savannah."

"You have a girlfriend?" Callie hated how small her voice sounded.

Arizona nodded before remembering Callie couldn't see her. "I do. Her name is Lucy."

"How long have you…?"

"Four years."

Callie swallowed. _Of course_ Arizona had a successful doctor girlfriend of four years named Lucy, because why wouldn't she? "Do you love her?" The question came spilling out of her mouth before she could stop it, and she immediately felt like an idiot.

"Calliope…" Arizona pleaded softly. No one had ever really asked her that question about Lucy before, and it surprised her. "Yes, I love her," she said quietly, but even as she said the words they didn't feel right. They made her feel guilty. "She's sweet and smart. You would like her."

"I'm sure I would," Callie said simply. She tilted her head back to look at the stars, pretending, for a moment, that they were 17 again and laying in Mrs. Dorothy's orchard. "Where is she now?"

"She's on 24 hour call a lot, so she sleeps at the hospital most nights." Callie played with the hem of her dress, not saying anything. Desperate to fill up the silence, Arizona kept talking. "She's meeting my parents tomorrow."

Callie raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit at the memory of Arizona's dad making her older brother Tim's high school girlfriend leave in tears after an introductory family meeting. He was a bit of a terrifying man to those that didn't know him. He commanded respect, though Callie had always viewed him as a big teddy bear. She had spent the majority of her childhood at the Robbins' household instead of her own, and Callie had grown incredibly close to the entire family. "Meeting the colonel, huh?" Callie giggled. "I'll send her my prayers. And maybe a fruit basket."

That made Arizona laugh. "He's not _that_ scary, is he? He always loved you."

"I loved him." She smiled sadly. "I miss him. And your mom."

"They miss you," Arizona said truthfully. "They asked about you for years after we broke up." She could hear how sleepy Arizona was getting by the easy tone of her voice. She was certain the blonde would be out like a light the moment they ended the call.

"I really want to see you again," Callie admitted quietly.

So quietly she wasn't sure Arizona heard it, until, "bake me a Marshmallow Mermaid pie and we'll talk."

Callie grinned and rolled her eyes. She squinted as the bus finally pulled into the bus stop, blinding her momentarily, and she stood and started gathering her things. "My bus is here."

"Mmkay," Arizona mumbled groggily, barely awake. "Are you still scared?"

"No. I'm safe and unscared now. You did a very good job." Callie boarded her bus, sitting toward the front and leaning her head against the window. It wasn't so bad at nighttime. Less crowded and way less hot.

Arizona giggled tiredly, muffled by her face pressed to her pillow. "You can thank me with a Marshmallow Mermaid pie."

Callie hated herself for grinning like an idiot.

"Goodnight, Arizona."

"Goodnight, Calliope."

* * *

**A/N: please let me know what you think! all reactions and feedback really do inspire me to keep this going. i hope you enjoyed this chapter :) **


	5. Chapter 5

Indigo eyes appraised the quaint house in front of her, quietly situated on the corner of 32nd Street and Lovers Lane.

Arizona hadn't laid eyes on her childhood home in over twelve years, and the surge of emotions that came barreling through her nearly knocked the breath out of her.

It looked almost exactly the way she had remembered it. The smallest house on the street, painted a pale yellow before Arizona had even been born, with a white wraparound porch where her parents would sit to drink their afternoon tea. A neatly kept garden lined the yard, impeccably maintained by her mother, blooming with daffodils and baby blue irises. The grass was vibrant green, and the sidewalk she had once decorated with pastel chalk championed brand new cracks as the foundation began to settle.

The oak tree out front was missing the tire swing Tim had always pushed her in when they were little. She had fallen out once, hard enough to skin up her knees and knock out her front baby tooth, and her brother, four years older than her, had laughed so hard at her that he fell down in the grass and muddied up his only good pair of jeans.

Their father had yelled, face beat red and the vein in his forehead bulging, but it had been so funny they hadn't cared. It was one of Arizona's favorite memories with Tim, one of the several the instantaneously came flooding back to her now.

She turned her car off and let the keys rest in the palm of her hand, parked neatly against the curb in front of her parent's home. "Here we are," the blonde simpered, unbuckling her seatbelt. "I told you it was nothing special." She wasn't embarrassed of her roots, necessarily, but she knew the woman next to her came from old money and a boarding school in northern California, a stark contrast from where Arizona had grown up. She wanted to brace her for the culture shock: the small rickety house, the homecooked Southern food they were sure to eat, the accents, all of it.

"Hush. It's _darling, _'Zona, really," Lucy gushed. She glanced herself over in her visor mirror quickly, tucking a lock of ash brown hair behind her ear.

Arizona could tell how badly she wanted to impress her parents, and she smiled at her encouragingly, hoping to pacify some of those worries. "They're going to love you, okay? Relax," she chuckled, willing herself to ignore the burning feeling of guilt starting to stir in her stomach.

Because the truth was, Arizona wasn't nervous for Lucy to meet her parents. She wasn't anxious or tense for things to go well, like she knew she probably should have been. She wasn't even necessarily excited. It was just another motion they were going through, another formal step to take straight out of the unofficial how-to guide for relationships.

She loved Lucy, she genuinely did. She hadn't lied when she told Callie that over the phone the night before. She was sweet, and Arizona knew her like the back of her hand after their four years spent together. Her favorite animal was ducks, she took two sugars in her coffee, and she hated the country music Arizona played sometimes when she was feeling particularly nostalgic. They watched _Chopped_ together on Tuesday nights, and their team always won during trivia night at their favorite bar back in Seattle. She cared about her and wanted good things for her. So, yes, she supposed she loved her too, as much as she could manage to love anyone at all.

But it wasn't the kind of love that set Arizona on fire. Lucy didn't ignite an almost painful spark that burned deep inside of her, kindling embers that no amount of time or distance could stamp out. Music didn't sound sweeter, colors weren't brighter. She didn't feel her heart take flight whenever she walked into the room.

Arizona wasn't so sure she was capable of ever feeling love like that again.

Losing that kind of love had nearly ripped Arizona apart. It had made her vulnerable, made her _hurt_. It left invisible wounds, left her weak, and she had vowed to never care about anyone that much ever again. Which hadn't been exactly difficult, since no one else was Callie.

Loving Lucy was comfortable and stable and dependable. It was easy. It couldn't hurt her, and that was exactly the way Arizona had wanted it. Always with the upper hand. Always in control. Always safe inside the fortress she had built around her heart all those years ago.

She took her girlfriend's hand and led her up the front porch steps, stepping over the chip Arizona had accidentally put in the paint with her softball bat as a kid. She knocked softly on the front door before pushing it open, poking her head in. "Mama?" she called, slipping back into her southern accent without realizing.

"Oh!" Arizona could hear her mother exclaim from the kitchen, and she smiled at the sound of her voice, immediately filling her with warmth and comfort in the way only a mother could. She pulled Lucy inside and shut the door behind her.

"Mama, this is—"

She was immediately cut off when she was yanked into a suffocating hug, her cheeks squishing up as she was held tightly. "Oh, my baby's finally home," Barbara Robbins squealed happily, pressing an affectionate kiss to her daughter's cheek. Arizona had somehow inherited all of her mother's perkiness and all of her father's stoicism, a perfect blend of the contrasting personalities.

Daniel Robbins stood tall and silent behind his wife, his face unreadable, as it always was, as he watched. "It's been far too long, young lady," he said simply. He opened up his arms and Arizona stood on her tiptoes to hug her father tight, feeling him give her a loving squeeze. He never outwardly expressed his feelings, but Arizona could tell he was happy to see her.

"I know, daddy," she sighed softly and pulled back, eyes studying her parents carefully. They had aged since the last time she saw them, her father's hair whiter than it had been two Christmases ago. Her mother was thinning out and getting shorter, it seemed, and it made Arizona's heart clench painfully in her chest, an unwelcome reminder of how fleeting and temporary their lives were. She cleared her throat quietly and turned to invite Lucy into the conversation. "Mama, daddy, this is—"

She was interrupted again by a sudden, sharp push against her legs, nearly knocking her over.

She looked down into the warm brown eyes of a dog, a gray and black marbled Australian Shepherd, wagging its tail and panting happily, paws resting on Arizona's thighs. The blonde grinned and immediately dropped to her knees, giving her unexpected assailant scratches behind his ear.

"Y'all got a _dog?_" Arizona asked in astonishment, grinning happily down at her new friend. Arizona had begged for a dog throughout her entire childhood, and her father had always been staunchly opposed, claiming they were too dirty and too impractical. She was surprised to see he had seemingly let up. Daniel Robbins was not a man that tended to bend once he had his mind made up about something.

"This is Samson, dear," Barbara introduced with a beaming grin, as if she were introducing a third child. Seeing the way Arizona's brow raised in obvious questioning, she continued, "It was too quiet and lonely around here once you moved off. Your daddy got me Sammy to help out with the empty nest syndrome a few years back."

Arizona smiled apologetically up at her parents, feeling increasingly guilty for staying gone for so long. "Well, you picked a good one, dad. He's cute," she stood up and brushed the fur off of her hands, turning to look at her girlfriend once more, who was still yet to say a word. She looked clammier than usual, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "Mama, daddy, this, um, this is Lucy." Arizona gestured to her a bit awkwardly, unsure of what to do with her hands. She _really _wasn't good at this.

Lucy smiled shyly and held out her hand for Barbara, who waved it off and pulled her into a welcoming hug instead. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Robbins, it's so lovely to finally meet you," Lucy's voice was quiet and polite.

"You can call me Barbara, sweetheart."

Daniel, on the other hand, kept his face hard and reserved. The joyful glimmer in his eyes from seeing his daughter had dissipated. "Call me _the Colonel,"_ he demanded, and Arizona felt her cheeks redden at her father's behavior. He had always been a pretty terrible host, even worse towards his children's significant others. She could tell he was unimpressed with Lucy so far, likely put off by her meek disposition, and Arizona couldn't figure out how to fix it. Her father valued strength and honorability in others above all else. He was a cynic, and Arizona was pretty positive it was impossible for _anyone_ to live up to the impossibly high standards he had set, let alone her nervous wreck of a girlfriend.

Sensing her daughter's embarrassment, and eager to dispose of the tension in the room herself, Barbara rushed to divert everyone's attention. "Let's go eat, dinner's on the table and it's getting cold." She shuffled the small herd toward the dining room. "It's my famous chicken pot pie. That was always Arizona's favorite as a girl. And there's apple cobbler in the oven and homemade vanilla ice cream in the freezer. I know how you love your sweets, sugar," she rambled, and Arizona finally felt herself begin to smile, flooded with the warmth of finally, after so long, being _home_.

* * *

A groan spilled past Arizona's pink lips, and she buried her face in her hands, pinching the bridge of her nose. Yeah, the magic and sweetness of being in her childhood home again had _definitely _started to wear off.

"_Mama,_" she hissed, "were the baby pictures really necessary?" Her cheeks flushed a bright red, eyeing the large white box in front of Lucy on the living room floor, her girlfriend splayed out on her stomach and flipping through her childhood pictures

Dinner had gone well enough. The tension had eventually subsided, and they had slipped into easy, comfortable conversation about Lucy growing up in California and how her shiny new residency had been going. Her father stayed civil and mostly quiet throughout their meal, and Arizona strongly suspected her mother had kicked him underneath the table to prevent him from interrogating the poor girl.

"Don't be silly, dear, of course they were! Don't be embarrassed, you were the cutest little thing. Everyone always said you could be a Baby Gap model."

Arizona rubbed her temples, trying to shake the tension out of her shoulders. She wasn't embarrassed, and she didn't really care if Lucy looked through them, because her mother was right: she _was_ cute. An angel of a child, with chubby cheeks and dimples and Bambi eyes. No, Arizona didn't want the pictures out because _she _didn't want to see them, primarily because—

"Who's this girl? She's in almost all of these," Lucy asked curiously, pointing to a picture of Arizona and Callie on Halloween in '99. They were about ten, and Arizona's mother, a seamstress, had spent two weeks hand sewing both of their costumes for them, neither family having enough money to buy a premade one. Arizona was a pink power ranger, her short blonde hair in braids, and Callie had been a ballerina.

"She's an old friend," Arizona answered. It wasn't a lie. As hard as she tried to resist the temptation of looking at the pictures—she _knew_ it would hurt and open old wounds—her eyes scanned greedily over the images anyway, soaking them in, reveling in the memories she had tried to repress for twelve years.

There was Arizona and Callie, aged twelve, standing over a volcano they had made together for the school science fair. Arizona and Callie, pressed cheek to cheek, grinning warmly at the camera at Arizona's ninth birthday party, pink cupcake frosting staining their mouths. Arizona and Callie, right before their senior prom, Arizona's baby blue dress complimenting Callie's pastel yellow. They had been dating for a year by then, in secret. It was taken only a couple of months before they broke up.

"Oh, this is such a good picture of Timothy," Lucy gushed, and Arizona cringed a bit at the sound of his name on her lips. No one called him Timothy except for their father. She reached for the picture Lucy held in her hands and immediately felt her heart soften.

It had been taken when Tim was twelve, and Arizona and Callie were eight. The siblings sported matching dimples and stormy eyes, snuggled up together in the fort they had built using Arizona's dinosaur sheets, watching a VHS copy of _Toy Story_ together. Arizona was in the middle, Callie and Tim on either side of her, her two best friends in the whole world. They had been a package deal, the three of them, before Tim left for the army when Arizona was 14.

She ghosted her fingertips over the image. Her heart felt heavy, weighted down with a melancholic feeling she couldn't quite place. She carefully folded up the picture and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans when no one was looking, then sat herself down on the floor next to Lucy, pointing to a Callie-free picture of her entire family. "That's my Aunt Jane, mama's sister. And my cousin Nick, the one with the cast on his arm. He broke it on his farm when he and Tim were playing cowboys—"

The sound of Lucy's pager interrupted her, and Arizona bit back the disappointment that flooded her. "I though you weren't on call today?"

"I'm not," Lucy looked at her, eyes soft and apologetic, already getting up to gather her things and leave. "It must be something big. I'm so sorry, 'Zona."

"It's fine."

Lucy turned to face her parents and smiled. "It was so nice meeting you Barbara and…" she hesitated, "…the Colonel. Z and I will have to host dinner next time," she offered. "I'm so sorry for rushing off like this," she halted when she picked up their car keys, remembering only then that they had carpooled. "Um…"

"It's fine, Lucy," Arizona reassured her, eyes closing when Lucy pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll just take the bus home tonight. You drive safe. I'll see you…?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, probably." She watched Lucy's freckled nose scrunch in distaste. "The bus, 'Zona? Are you sure? Isn't that dangerous? And…dirty?"

The blonde's brows furrowed a little, struck by how privileged her girlfriend sounded. God, she hoped she hadn't grown to sound like that over the years. "I used to take the bus every day. I think I'll manage for one night," she rolled her stiff shoulders back. "Don't worry about me, you go."

Lucy smiled at her, eyes filled with love, and pecked her mouth quickly. Then she was out the door in an instant.

Arizona turned to face her parents once they were left alone and dimpled, brushing blonde curls out of her face. "Y'all wanna watch a movie?" she suggested, not wanting to leave so soon. "Do you still have that copy of _All Quiet on the Western Front_?" She had hated her dad's old war movies as a kid, but they were the only films he genuinely enjoyed. She would often sacrifice her tapes of _Annie _or _The Land Before Time_ to let him watch them, and nine times out of ten she would end up falling asleep in his lap not even a half hour into the movie.

"I think I'm going to head to bed, kiddo," her father said, a bit softer now that they were alone. Daniel ran a tight ship, always in bed by 9 to wake up no later than 4:30 each morning. Seeing the disappointment in his daughter's eyes, he hugged her goodnight. "Don't be such a stranger, young lady," he scolded her gently, and Arizona felt herself start to smile.

"I won't, I promise," she vowed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight, daddy."

After her father retired for the night, Arizona sat down on her knees on the floor next to Samson and started to pick up all of the pictures, organizing them neatly in the box. She felt her mom's eyes on her, and her cheeks flushed, lifting her head to meet matching blue eyes. "What?"

"Nothing. You've just grown into such a pretty girl."

Arizona rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. "Hush, mama," she giggled. Barbara sat beside her, helping her pick up the photo albums, and they slipped into easy conversation. "Did you like Lucy?"

"She seems nice."

"That wasn't what I asked."

Barbara laughed quietly. She should have known better than to try and evade her daughter, always so observant and astute. "Yes, I like her, from the little I've seen of her so far." She kept her eyes trained on her daughter, studying her face. "Do _you _like her?"

Arizona's head jerked up, surprised by the question. "What?"

Her mother shrugged nonchalantly. "Do you like her? Are you… happy?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, a little flustered. "She's my girlfriend, mama. Of course I like her." Blonde curls shook. "I love her."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Arizona parroted, growing frustrated.

"It's just…" Barbara chose her words carefully. "You barely look at her. I just want to make sure you're happy."

Arizona frowned, remaining silent. She didn't know how to defend herself because her mother, as usual, was right. She cleared her throat quietly and re-busied herself with putting the pictures away, needing a distraction. "I'm happy enough."

"You shouldn't have to settle for happy _enough_, sweetheart," Barbara said gently. She wasn't looking to pick a fight, but she was concerned, so she wasn't going to bite her tongue either. "40 years together and I still can't take my eyes off of your father. That's how love should be."

"Maybe some people aren't cut out to love that way."

"Maybe," her mother concurred, her eyes falling on the picture that was currently in her daughter's hands. It was of Arizona and Callie when they were 15, wrapped up in winter coats and scarves in early January. It had snowed, a rare occurrence for southern Georgia, and not very much; the dry grass was barely covered with the white sheath of snow, but they had attempted to build a snowman anyway. Callie was focused on balling up the dirty snow in her mittened hands, and Arizona was focused on _Callie_, staring at her with soft eyes and a stupid smile. "But I think you are, honey, and I think you have."

Arizona's lips pressed together in solemn understanding. She had never explicitly told her parents that she had dated Callie, but she hadn't outright hidden it either, the way Callie had done. "You knew?"

"Your father and I always suspected," Barbara shrugged a gentle shoulder. "Then when you came out to us during college we were certain. No one looks at a friend that way," she gestured to the picture Arizona held in her hands. The blonde smiled sadly before packing it away. "That and the way you went from talking about her nonstop to avoiding it at all costs. What happened between the two of you, anyway?"

Arizona sighed and closed up the box of memories, taking a seat on the couch beside her mother. She rested her head on the aging woman's shoulder, feeling small, like a vulnerable little kid again. "She broke up with me," Arizona admitted. "At the airport, when we were about to fly to Rhode Island together." She had never talked about the details of that day with anyone, and it felt strange coming off her lips. "Said she had just been experimenting and that she didn't love me and that it was over and all kinds of… awful things," she blinked a few times, hating herself for the way her eyes wanted to water.

Barbara frowned. "Well, that doesn't sound like the Callie I knew."

Arizona shook her head. "It blindsided me. It crushed me. She left and I got on the plane by myself and I tried so hard to understand, for so long. I wrote to her and I called and just… radio silence. Nothing. No explanation," she felt her lower lip start to wobble and she very quickly repressed those emotions once more. Arizona Robbins was excellent at compartmentalizing, for better or for worse.

"Oh, honey," her mother whispered sympathetically, pressing a loving kiss to the crown of her daughter's head. "I can't imagine how hard that must have been to go through all alone, in a brand new city no less."

"I'm sorry for never telling you."

"Don't you be sorry, dear. I understand. Your father does, too."

They sat in silence for a while, Barbara rubbing soothing circles on her back. She didn't want to pry too far for information, as the blonde tended to shut down when pushed. Finally Arizona spoke again, of her own free will, her voice small. "I hated her. For doing that to me. But I still loved her so much. I still worried about her. Sometimes I still do."

Her mother's eyes softened. "I see her outside of the diner sometimes. I suppose she works there. She's still very beautiful," and Arizona had to bite back the _oh, trust me, I know_ that was on the tip of her tongue. "Her mother died a few years after you left. Breast cancer, I think the ladies at the church said it was. Her father packed up and moved to Miami not long after."

Arizona's head snapped up and her face fell. "Lucia…?" And at her mother's nod, Arizona felt her heart break a little. She hadn't known Callie's family exceptionally well, not the way Callie had known hers. She was always a bit scared of Carlos and his mean streak, to be honest, and Callie seemed to be too, spending as much of her free time away from home as she could. Lucia had always been nice enough, though. She baked a pie every year for Callie's birthday, and sometimes she would come to have tea with her mom while they played in the yard. She knew that Callie loved her, and that the cherished yellow ribbon she wore in her hair had been a gift from her.

She remembered the way Callie had held her when Tim died. She was 17 and had cried herself to sleep for weeks in the Latina's arms, and Callie had held per patiently, kissing away every tear. She had brought her water and donuts and made her laugh again. She had held her hand as she healed, stitched her back together with her love.

She sorely wished she had been able to be there for Callie when she lost her mother.

Arizona sighed sadly and buried her face into her mom's shoulder in an affectionate hug. "I'm really happy I still have you, mama. I can't imagine…" she admitted, voice thick with emotion.

Barbara Robbins smiled wistfully and brushed her daughter's hair from her face for her. "Me too, child. Me too."

* * *

It was almost 11 o'clock when Arizona finally left her parent's house. She had sat with her mother, over a cup of decaf coffee, and caught up with her, telling her all about her life back in Seattle as well as her new job and new friends at the clinic. It had been cathartic, and she left much lighter than she had arrived.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes as she boarded the old bus she hadn't seen in years, smiling politely at the driver. The bus was mostly empty, with several vacant rows, and she made her way towards one closer to the back.

A gentle hand wrapping around her wrist and the soft sound of her voice being called stopped her. "Arizona?"

It was Callie, slumped down slightly in her seat and grinning up at the blonde. Arizona's eyes lit up. "Calliope. I didn't even see you. This seat taken?" She giggled when Callie shook her head and sat down beside her, their thighs brushing. She tried to ignore how mind numbingly good it felt to be so close to her.

She looked tired but so beautiful. She couldn't stop looking at her.

"What's the big shot doctor doing on the public bus?" Callie teased, tapping their knees together.

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Long story. Did you just get off work?" At Callie's nod, she tilted her head curiously. "Was the bus stop less scary tonight?"

"Still scary," Callie admitted, and blue eyes narrowed at her. "My boss, Mark, keeps joking that I should start carrying one of the kitchen knives with me."

"You should have called me again, Callie."

The brunette laughed tiredly. She pulled the ribbon out of her long hair and let it fall down around her shoulders in messy waves, framing her face. "I didn't want to annoy you."

"Nothing about you is annoying," Arizona's hand rested on her knee, squeezing it gently to reassure her. "Besides, if you call me every night I won't have to worry about you getting home safe."

Callie's eyebrow raised. Arizona worried about her? "I think you just wanna hear my voice every night," the brunette smirked.

"Maybe," she played along, dimples popping. It almost scared her how easily they could fall back into banter like this. Her eyes shifted, momentarily, to the window behind Callie as the bus approached its next stop, an idea popping into her head. "Are you hungry?"

"What?" Callie asked with a chuckle, so sleepy and so distracted by Arizona's hand on her leg she thought she misheard the question.

Arizona laughed, the happy noise that bubbled out of her making Callie's heart hurt. "Are you hungry?" she repeated, scrunching her nose at the confused look Callie gave her. "Don't look at me like that, Callie, just answer the question."

Callie hesitated because, yes, she was hungry. She had had to skip a few meals lately to afford all of rent and to stash a few dollars away for the pie contest without Luke noticing. "A little, I guess."

"Good! Let's take a little detour. My treat," Arizona's eyes gleamed with a mischievous sparkle.

Callie smiled, the excitement in Arizona's voice adorable. It was a Saturday night, which meant Luke would be out drinking beers with his buddies until at least one in the morning, giving her a little more freedom than typical. "I have to be home by midnight," she protested quietly. She had learned long ago that it was better safe than sorry when it came to him.

"I can have you home by then, Cinderella," Arizona rolled her eyes and smiled coyly and grabbed the Latina's hand, giving it a gentle pull, leading her toward the exit of the bus. She was literally _bouncing_ down the aisle, buzzing with excitement, and Callie grinned like an idiot as she watched her. "Come on, we've got big places to be."

* * *

"_This_ is the big places we had to be?" Callie asked with a laugh.

They were sitting side by side on the curb outside of McDonald's, the only fast food restaurant in Sweetwine, and Callie was eating the chicken nuggets Arizona had insisted she buy her.

The blonde lapped at the vanilla ice cream cone in her hands and laughed. "Shut up. It's the only place open this late." She licked a sticky drop of ice cream off her wrist that had dribbled down it, the Georgia heat melting her dessert faster than she could eat it, and Callie had to actively tear her eyes away from the sight.

"I feel like, as my doctor, you really shouldn't be endorsing me eating fast food," Callie teased her.

"I probably shouldn't kiss you as your doctor, either, but it's too late for that," she countered, and Callie's eyes darkened.

A beat of silence as both girls recovered from their mouths running dry.

Then Callie remembered something Arizona had mentioned on the phone last night, and she sobered up quickly. "Lucy met your parents?"

Arizona's playful smile faltered a bit and she sat up straighter. "Yeah, she did."

"How'd it go?"

"It… went," Arizona laughed humorlessly. "I don't think my dad's a huge fan."

"I was joking about sending her a fruit basket, but maybe I'll actually have to," she smiled sympathetically, and it melted into a true smile at the sound of Arizona's laugh.

The blonde reached into her back pocket to pull out the folded picture she had stashed earlier, quickly handing it over to Callie to avoid getting it sticky with her ice cream. "Look what I found today."

The brunette put her chicken nugget down and wiped her hands on her apron before taking the folded-up-something from her ex, eyeing her curiously. She laid it out flat, eyes softening as they landed on the picture of her and Arizona and Tim. "Oh," she whispered, rendered speechless for a moment. "God, I miss this."

"I miss it, too. I miss him," Arizona admitted sadly. She dropped her unfinished, half melted ice cream cone into the McDonald's bag they were using as a makeshift trash can, deciding she didn't want any more. She rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in the palm of her hands, watching Callie with big indigo eyes before confessing quietly, "I missed you."

Callie closed her eyes momentarily, willing herself not to melt on the spot. "I missed you, Arizona. You have no idea how much."

The blonde inched closer. She rested a cold hand on Callie's knee, smiling when it caused the brunette to open those smoky eyes again.

The stared at each other silently, comfortably, taking a few indulgent moments to refamiliarize themselves with the other. They memorized the new freckles, the new smile lines.

And then Callie was leaning in and kissing her, much gentler this time than in the examination room. Hands went to cheeks and tangled in hair and they _melted_ together, briefly, before it was over all too soon.

Because Arizona was pulling away from her, and Callie could tell from that trademark look in her eyes that her mind was racing. "I can't—" she was breathless, even from a kiss lasting less than ten seconds, "I don't want to do this."

Callie could feel the way her face fell, and Arizona must have noticed it too, because she rushed to gently cup her cheek to keep her from turning away from her. Her thumb feathered over her cheekbone affectionately. "I meant that I don't want to kiss you in doctor's offices and dirty parking lots, Callie. You mean more to me than that."

Callie blinked a few times, then sighed quietly, because she knew the blonde was right. She pecked Arizona's lips gently before pulling away completely. "Any chance you're free tomorrow morning?" Callie tried, picking up her late dinner once more to finish it. She really had to get going soon. "The diner doesn't open until noon 'cause of church. I could finally make you that pie you've been begging for, if you're interested."

"I'm very interested," she smiled softly, hating the way butterflies stirred in her stomach at the thought of seeing her again. "Is 8 AM alright?"

"8 is perfect," Callie pushed herself off from the curb and dusted off her uniform, tossing their trash in the garbage can. She turned to the blonde, holding out a hand to help her up, which she gladly accepted. Callie wrinkled her nose. "Ew," she laughed, moving to pull her hand away, "you're all sticky."

"But sweet," Arizona shot her a toothy grin, wrapping her hand tighter around Callie's fingers to keep her from withdrawing them. She used her free hand to shove the picture back into her jeans and guided them lazily toward the bus stop.

As they sat beneath the orange-hued stoplight and waited for their bus, Arizona caught herself staring at the taller Latina, eyes greedily soaking in the way her hair fell over her shoulder, the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Those strong eyebrows and high cheekbones and whiskey-colored eyes. She found her miraculous, breathtakingly stunning.

_40 years together and I still can't take my eyes off of your father. That's how love should be, _her mother's words from earlier that evening echoed in her ears.

The carefully constructed fortress around her heart was cracking.

And she was letting it fall.

* * *

**A/N: thank you, as always, for reading. please let me know what you think of this chapter! it's the longest one yet I believe. :) have an amazing day! **


	6. Chapter 6

Monday's Place was empty when Callie arrived, silent and still much like the outside streets.

The majority of Sweetwine would be in church by now, dressed in their Sunday finest. Children would fidget in their pews and pull at their itchy dresses and only keep quiet once bribed with the promise of watching Bugs Bunny after service. Parents would greet one another with faux-friendly smiles, whispering in each other's ears and behind each other's backs about the newest town scandal. _Did you hear about Mary down the street?_ they would say, holding their hands over their chests as if they actually felt an ounce of pity in their hardened, judgmental hearts. _Her husband left her, bless her._

The hypocrisy of it all had always made Callie's stomach feel sick. It was a game, church. One she had played and one she had lost.

She had long ago resigned herself to reading scriptures on her own and reciting her bedtime prayers in her head every night, trying her hardest to cling onto the little faith she had left. She avoided the crowd she had grown up around to the best of her ability, and the dirty looks and whispers she still sometimes got in the grocery store had eventually stopped stinging so much.

Instead of a book of hymns she studied the pages of her old, tattered recipe book. Every single pie Callie had ever imagined up had been sloppily handwritten in the pages, stained with vanilla extract and melted butter over the years. _This,_ the kitchen, was her cathedral now. She anointed golden crusts with boysenberry and powdered sugar, the lattice topped rhubarb pies were stained glass windows. She was devout in her work, and each of her magnum opuses were sinfully decadent.

She imagined if one of her pies had been in the Garden of Eden, poor Eve wouldn't have stood a chance, and the whole punishment in painful childbearing thing would have _almost_ been worth it.

She let her hand fall to her stomach fleetingly. She wasn't showing yet, not even close. The pamphlets Arizona had given her had ensured another two months or so of safety on that front.

It felt odd, Callie thought, having another living thing inside of her, soaking up all of her nutrition and energy and joy like a pastel cloth covered parasite. She couldn't bring herself to grow attached to it, to think of names or pick out nursery colors or write a letter in that stupid baby book Addison had gifted her, still sitting untouched on the cookbook shelf above her head.

She would protect it, though, and she would try her hardest to learn to love it. She was sure that affectionate feeling would come eventually, right?

She just wasn't quite there yet, still paralyzed and grieving the potential life she was sacrificing for it.

_It. _Addison scolded her daily for using that word. Maybe the first step of her grief work would be switching to a gentler, more polite _them_ when referring to her unborn child.

Callie sifted through the kitchen of the diner, pulling out graham crackers and toasted coconut flakes to prepare for Arizona's arrival. Marshmallow Mermaid was, admittedly, probably one of her least favorite pies. It was childish and way, _way _too sweet, but it was Arizona's favorite, and she probably would have done just about anything for that girl. Even now.

She heard the front door jingle and smiled at the sugary sweet voice calling her name, "Callie?"

"Back here," the brunette called, and Arizona followed the sound of her voice to the kitchen. Callie felt her cheeks warm at the sight of her. Fresh faced, long blonde hair straightened and reaching her lower back. She had on a pale lavender dress, falling just above her knees, tiny white and yellow daisies decorating the soft fabric.

"Hi. Good morning," she chirped, standing on her tiptoes to kiss a tan cheek.

Callie's hands fell to her slim waist, locking her in place. "Morning," the brunette parroted, and Arizona melted into the embrace, small hands resting on strong arms. They stayed that way for a few moments, the blonde smiling up at Callie like she had put the stars in the sky.

"You look really pretty today," Arizona admitted, her cheeks blushing a bit. _Smooth, Robbins. _She felt like a teenager again in her presence and hated it.

Callie rolled her eyes and finally loosened her grip on the smaller woman. "I'm wearing the same old uniform I wear every day," she brushed the compliment off. She wasn't used to receiving positive attention, not anymore, and it made her a bit uncomfortable. She had become invisible over the years, a pitifully plain vessel that everyone took and took and took from, never bothering to feed any light back into.

Blonde eyebrows furrowed. "So?" Arizona challenged her, letting out a quiet laugh. "You're still the most beautiful person in this town." She said it plainly, as if it was the most simple, obvious thing in the world, and for a moment, Callie almost believed her. A smile ghosted over her lips and Arizona kissed it quickly, before it could disappear, and smiled brightly when she pulled back. "I'll tell you that daily if I need to. Now come on, feed me sugar for breakfast."

Callie laughed, shaking her head. "Not so fast. You gotta work for it first," she smirked at the pout that adorned Arizona's lips when she finally seemed to notice all of the ingredients laid out on the kitchen counter.

"You're making _me_ bake it? I'm an awful cook."

"I'm teaching you," Callie corrected. "You asked me to teach you."

"I still burn dinosaur nuggets." Blue eyes narrowed, the perfectionist in her flaring up. "It's gonna be bad," she whined.

"You think anything I help make could be bad?" Callie teased her, gently pulling on her wrists. "Come here." She situated the petite blonde in front of her, wrapping her arms safely around her, and gently piloted her hands over the steps to the graham cracker crust she could make in her sleep. "See? It's easy." She rested her chin on Arizona's shoulder.

The blonde's breath hitched silently when she felt warm curves press against her back, and she stretched her neck to the side to look at her. She didn't miss the way brown eyes fell to her lips. "You really can't expect me to retain any of this when you're this close to me, Callie," she warned, voice quieter and raspier than normal.

Callie laughed, turning her face to meet Arizona in the middle. Their lips almost brushed. "You don't really have to retain it. I'll make it for you whenever you want," she pulled away before things could escalate, releasing her from her arms and standing next to her at the counter instead, a safe, respectable distance left between them. "I just wanna watch you suffer a little first. It's fun."

Arizona glared sharply, pushing her hair behind her shoulders. "I hate you."

Callie just smiled, handing her a fork and watching her—clumsily, Callie would admit—mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter and toasted coconut flakes together. Her nose scrunched a little the way it always used to when she hyper fixated on a task, and the brunette could tell she was trying so, _so _hard, so she tried her hardest to steel her face.

"Are you laughing at me, Calliope?"

"What gave it away?"

"You're shaking," Arizona huffed, looking down at the poorly made pie crust she had pressed into a tin. It was lopsided, and she attempted to crimp the edges to make it look nicer, but somehow she only made it worse. "It's ugly."

Callie's shoulders shook with laughter. "It's not ugly," Callie lied through her teeth, but her composure crumbled at the unamused frown on the small woman's face. "Okay, it's a little ugly, but it's still cute," she smiled encouragingly, popping the dough in the oven to bake.

Arizona leaned against the counter and rolled her eyes, biting back a smile. "You're a liar. And you're just tryin' to embarrass me."

"Come on, baking was the _only_ thing I was ever better than you at. You had all those AP classes and the softball team. Let me still have this," she teased, gently bumping their hips.

"That's not true. You can sing and Lord knows I can't carry a tune," the blonde laughed, remembering how competitive they had been as children. "And you were so good at art. That was the only class I didn't get an A in during high school. I _still_ think Miss Collins just had it out for me, though," she wrinkled her nose in distaste, clearly still holding a grudge.

"You're lucky you made it out of that class with a B, Arizona. I would've given you an F."

Her jaw fell open, and blue eyes narrowed into slits. "Hey! I'm not that bad." She couldn't even pretend to be mad, though, and her cheeks hurt a little from smiling.

"I think my eight-week-old fetus could paint better."

"Oh, come on. They're the size of a raspberry this week. Can't even hold a paintbrush."

"And still better than you somehow," Callie taunted. She paused, considering Arizona's words. "A raspberry, huh? That's… kind of cute."

"It's very cute," the blonde concurred. Even as she smiled, her eyes were a bit sad. "You're going to be a great mom."

Callie stiffened. She didn't want to have this conversation, not now, and not with Arizona. "Thank you for saying that." She untied and retied her apron around her waist, for no real reason other than wanting to keep her hands busy.

"I'm not just saying it," Arizona frowned. "It's the truth. You're so hard on yourself."

A humorless laugh fell out of Callie's mouth, filling the air and wrapping its way around Arizona's chest, squeezing it painfully. "Arizona, I appreciate it, but…" She shook her head. She could feel one of her long tirades on the tip of her tongue, and she let it leak out. "I'm almost 30, a waitress at a diner in this suffocating town. I take the bus every day. My husband's a mechanic and works three times a week, and that's on a good week." She blinked up at the ceiling. "There's not a whole lot I can give to this kid. I can't even afford a stupid crib."

"Callie," Arizona whispered, the broken look on the brunette's face nearly killing her. She broke the distance between them, gently holding her face in her hands to force her to maintain the eye contact she was clearly evading. "Hey," she said softly, blue eyes burning into brown, silently begging her to listen. "None of that means you won't be a good mom. Wanna know what I know you can give this baby?"

Callie rolled her eyes, blinking a few times to keep herself from crying, but Arizona pressed on.

"Love and patience and compassion and gentleness and a soft place to land. Children need that, Callie. Your child is going to love you so much you won't even know what to do with all of it."

Arizona thumbed over Callie's cheek, a breathy sigh of relief falling past her lips when Callie seemed to relax, soaking in at least a little bit of her words. "You've always been one of the best people I've ever met. You and that heart of yours. That's never changed," the blonde whispered, pressing their foreheads together briefly.

Callie offered a tired smile. "How have you always been so good at knowing what to say?"

"I'm good at everything, remember? Except baking," she laughed quietly and kissed the crest of Callie's jaw, enjoying the closeness.

"And art and music, don't forget." The ten-minute timer Callie had set for Arizona's pie crust sounded and the Latina regretfully pulled away to retrieve it, leaving it out on the counter to cool. "Ready for the hard part, my little culinary student?" She teased, laughing when Arizona's ocean colored eyes rolled back, grateful for the distraction from the heavy subject.

"_That_ was the easy part? I'm screwed."

"That's the spirit." Callie slipped her apron off and wrapped it around the blonde's waist. It was much longer on the petite woman, falling to her knees.

"Do I look hot?" She asked with a mischievous little grin.

"Incredibly. You know what a woman in a uniform does to me."

"Shut up," Arizona's cheeks flushed, and Callie laughed at her.

The Latina began to heat a saucepan on low, filled with creamy milk and an abundance of fluffy, sugary marshmallows that made Arizona's mouth water. "Think you can handle stirring this 'til it's smooth?"

"Maybe. I'll probably burn it," Arizona dimpled, taking the spoon out of Callie's hand and starting in on her assigned task.

Beside her, Callie effortlessly began to beat heavy whipping cream with a whisk until stiff peaks formed, folding in freshly grated unsweetened chocolate. She topped it off with the marshmallows Arizona had unevenly melted, biting back her jokes about her poor performance. "There, almost done. Now just spoon it into your crust and top it off with marshmallows and sprinkles." Callie's face scrunched.

"Don't make that face, Callie. It's _good._ You invented it," she huffed, following the brunette's directions carefully.

"Yeah, as a kid, for another kid way too obsessed with sugar," Callie laughed, watching Arizona work. "You and about five actual _children_ at the diner are the only ones that request it."

"Leave us alone. Those kids have good taste," Arizona giggled, tossing a marshmallow at Callie and smirking at the way her jaw fell open.

Callie flicked a glob of whipped cream back at her assailant, smirking in triumph when half of it landed in blonde hair, the other half smeared across a soft cheek.

"Callie!"

"You started it," she laughed, brown eyes widening when she watched a small hand grasp a fistful of sprinkles. "No no no no no…" She held her hands up defensively, backing away from the smaller woman.

"Get back here," she bossed, launching the sprinkles at her target and grinning at the squeal it produced.

"Hey! I have to clean those up," but Callie was laughing even as she said it, the blonde cornering her against a counter.

"Look at my hair. I have to clean _me_ up," Arizona giggled, her stomach and cheeks hurting a bit from laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so happy, so free.

Callie swiped her hand across her cheek gently, wiping the whipped cream off of her face and staring down at her, suddenly solemn. Suddenly hyperaware of how hard it was to breathe. "There. All better."

Arizona bit her lip, shaking her head and leaning in closer to her former lover. Her heart hammered against her chest, the intensity of it almost hurting. "I really—" her voice caught in her throat, "—really can't seem to stay away from you, Callie."

"I know. Me too," her voice was shaky, and brown eyes closed, garnering the strength to keep from up and wrapping the blonde up in her arms and kissing her. "It's a bad idea. You have a girlfriend."

"You have a husband."

"You're my doctor."

"You have a baby on the way."

Callie gulped, fluttering her dark eyes open again to meet the deep indigo set watching her, waiting for her. The look in those eyes could have knocked the breath out of her.

They were both trying so hard to do the decent thing, to remain honorable and good, but it was as if they were magnetized to one another, helpless to the direction they were being pulled.

It felt like Callie had been asleep for so long, punished to a lifetime left in the dark night, and now the blonde was in front of her, bright and warm and beautiful like the morning. It was getting harder and harder to keep herself at a distance, her fragile strength beginning to shatter. "I'm so tired of doing the right thing all of the time," she admitted quietly. She tilted the blonde's jaw upward with her hand. "I want to be selfish for once."

Their bodies pressed together, and Arizona had to cage the moan threatening to fall out of her mouth. "We can keep it a secret," she breathed, long lashes fluttering.

Callie felt a sad smile ghost over her lips at Arizona's words. She had promised the same exact thing to her after their first kiss back in high school, but she pushed that thought away for now. She slipped her hands down to Arizona's slender hips, and with one gentle tug on a white string, the apron she was wearing was on the floor. The blonde shivered.

And then Callie pounced.

Her hands slid into messy hair and she shoved Arizona against the kitchen counter, a soft hiss falling from her mouth at the sting of the cold steel pressing into her lower back. It was sure to leave a bruise against her pale spine, but Arizona didn't care or particularly notice, because that mouth was on her own before she could even process it. Their teeth clashed in a less than chaste kiss and she whimpered, then Callie's tongue was filling her forcibly, scraping over the roof of her mouth.

She accepted it gladly, straining on her tiptoes to reach, not wanting to break away even for a second.

Manicured hands grasped at Callie, bunching up her light blue dress in her small fists. She finally broke the kiss to gasp in a necessary breath, moving her lips down to the Latina's prominent collarbone instead, trailing a line of wet kisses and bites as she struggled to catch her breath. "God, I've been thinking about this since the examination room. Maybe even before that."

"Me too," Callie admitted, moaning at the feeling of those soft lips on her warm skin. The sound made Arizona shiver, and Callie gripped the woman's slim hips, hoisting her up onto the empty counter behind her with ease.

"Calliope!" Arizona pulled away suddenly, lips swollen and eyes narrowed in genuine anger. "You can't be lifting heavy things. Don't do that. Okay? Don't do that again. I don't want anything happening to you or to the—"

"God, shut up," Callie interrupted her, laughing against her mouth as she kissed her again, and the blonde didn't need to be told twice. Her knees fell open and Callie situated herself between them as they made out, running her hands up Arizona's exposed thighs when her dress bunched around her waist.

Arizona's hands wrapped around Callie, toying with the zipper on the back of her dress and whining impatiently when she couldn't unzip it from their current position, wanting it _off. _The brunette smirked at her hastiness. "Eager, are we?"

Arizona just groaned, digging her heels into her strong lower back. "A little," she breathed, hips twitching in arousal. "Look at you. Can you blame me?"

Callie tapped her arm lightly and she responded in kind, lifting her arms over her head and letting Callie peel her dress off of her, leaving her in only a black bra and a pair of tiny, skintight panties. The sight was almost enough to make Callie come, right then and there, just by looking at her. "Look at _you,_" the Latina mewled, eyes glazed over with lust as she soaked in every square inch of the lithe body in front of her.

She was perfect, Callie decided. Not a single flaw on her. Toned muscles, creamy skin, the sparse freckles decorating her torso as if painted there by God. Those big blue _fuck me _eyes, perky breasts straining against her bra. Time had definitely been kind to her. Her mouth watered as she palmed at her breasts, meeting pink lips for another hot, wet kiss.

Arizona was almost shaking under her touch, chest heaving as she fought for air. Her nails clawed recklessly at Callie's scalp, keeping her close, and her hips nearly jolted off the table when Callie's lips wrapped around her left nipple, a shot of electricity straight to her core.

She gripped Callie's ass in her hands, pushing her uniform up a bit and greedily pulling her closer, until her thigh fell between her spread legs. The friction against her cloth-covered clit made her whimper and she rolled her hips forward, begging for more. It was almost embarrassing, really, how wet she was already, but she didn't care. A desperate plea fell from her swollen lips. "I need you, Calliope." _In more ways than one. _

Black eyes watched as Arizona practically humped herself against her tan leg, and Callie was fairly certain that it was the hottest thing she had ever been lucky enough to witness in her life. She stilled her hips with her hands and licked a lazy trail down Arizona's body, tongue gliding over the salty-sweet skin in the valley between her breasts, past her belly button and landing at her right hipbone, lowering herself to her knees in front of her. Callie kissed the tender skin there, ignoring the sharp sting of Arizona tugging at her hair.

"_Please,_" the blonde openly, unabashedly begged, hips jerking off the table. Callie's breath, a familiar mix of spearmint and honey, tickled her sensitive thighs and she was pretty sure she was seconds away from crying if she wasn't touched soon.

Callie wasn't interested in teasing her, not now. She wanted to reconnect with her fully, to finally stitch them back together and become one again, even if only fleetingly. She pressed a kiss to her clit through her drenched panties before pulling them down long legs, mouth running dry. "You're perfect."

A throaty, breathless laugh escaped Arizona and she shook her head, watching the object of her affections through hooded eyes. "Nuh-uh," she felt her cheeks flush, and she tenderly brushed Callie's hair out of her eyes for her, letting their eyes lock.

"You are," she insisted, melting into the soft hand against her cheek. She wasn't used to being touched out of anything other than anger, and it felt nice. More than nice. She pressed little kisses to the inside of her thighs, then swiped her tongue gently through pink folds, the sweet taste making her feel dizzy.

"Fuck," Arizona groaned, squeezing her thighs together to keep Callie in place, her head falling back.

"You're soaked," Callie noted, voice muffled against Arizona's pussy, and the vibrations her words sent through the blonde's body was almost too much. She trembled as Callie lapped at her, thorough and mind-blowing as ever, easily refamiliarizing herself with the exact way Arizona liked to be fucked—where to touch her, when to push harder, how fast she needed it.

She almost screamed when two strong fingers slid inside of her and curled upwards. Sharp teeth nipped at her swollen clit and Arizona knew she was about to come, and fast.

"No," she whimpered out her protest, barely able to think, let alone speak. She was literally shaking. "Callie, no," she tugged softly at the Latina's free hand, currently holding her hips down. "I want you—" a groan tore through her, "—I want you up here, with me. Come here," she begged, and Callie had to tear herself away.

She wiped her mouth lazily with her wrist, but kept her other hand where it was, strong fingers plowing in and out of her relentlessly. She stood up to kiss the blonde, and Arizona cried out at the taste of herself still on her mouth.

She reached blindly under her dress and between her legs, pushing her panties to the side to bury two nimble fingers inside of her, fucking her hard and quick. She thumbed over her clit and smirked at the way the taller woman's knees nearly buckled. "I'm gonna—"

"I know," Callie groaned, feeling the way Arizona throbbed around her fingers, mere seconds away from reaching her threshold. "Come for me."

But Arizona shook her head stubbornly and curled her fingers, desperate to get Callie there, too, and at the same time. She wanted to come with her. It was getting harder and harder to keep herself from falling apart, and she pressed her palm against Callie's wet folds harder, deeper. The brunette's hips jerked, and she cursed sharply in Spanish. "Come with me," she begged.

And she did.

The tightly bound coil in her abdomen finally broke and tiny white stars appeared behind her eyes as she climaxed, tightening around Arizona's fingers almost painfully, drenching her hand, she was sure. She threw her head back, but a firm hand on her jaw pulled it back down, blue eyes staring deep into her soul as they both unraveled. The intensity of her gaze burned.

Arizona's lips were parted, but no sound escaped. She was certain there would have been screams if her body was strong enough to produce noise.

They were sweaty and panting as aftershocks rocked through both of them. The room was warm. Their skin was warm. Neither moved for a solid few minutes, entwined up in the other as their bodies recovered.

Arizona was the first to pull her hand away, and Callie groaned when she wrapped those pink lips around her fingers, cleaning Callie's wetness off of them. "That… wasn't what I meant by having sugar for breakfast," Arizona smirked, a low laugh rumbling in her chest. She pushed a sweaty piece of hair out of her face. "But it was much better."

Callie laughed quietly, still a little breathless, and moved her hands to hold her pretty face. She kissed her softly, and Arizona accepted it happily, gently, grateful the brunette hadn't freaked and ran after realizing what they had done.

Arizona was a little surprised she hadn't, either, if she was being honest with herself. They had just had sex—filthy, secret, mind-numbingly hot sex, in a diner on a Sunday morning—but she didn't feel dirty or even guilty. She knew it was wrong, she really knew that, but it was nearly impossible to bring herself to regret something like Callie.

Which meant she was in big, big trouble.

She sighed softly against her mouth and pulled her closer, resting her head against her chest as they embraced, nuzzling her nose against her affectionately. She pressed a sweet kiss to the side of her neck and Callie smiled in return, wrapping her arms around her and swaying a bit.

For a brief moment, it almost felt like Callie was hers. Almost. But then the gentle scratch of a small wedding ring against her skin brought her out of that maladaptive daydream.

She swallowed nervously and fluttered her lashes up at her. "Are we…?" _Are we really having an affair?_

"Yeah," Callie replied softly, rubbing her lower back in soothing circles.

"Okay." Neither one had to say what they were thinking. The way that they were drawn to the other, the ferocity of how much they wanted, maybe even needed, each other was palpable. There was no need to verbalize it.

But they both had lives to tend to outside of the other. Arizona checked the time on her phone. It was half past 10, and she needed to go soon, so she reluctantly pulled away and hopped off of the counter, picking up her discarded clothes from the floor.

Callie's eyes fell to the wallpaper on Arizona's phone when she checked the time, and her heart sank. She didn't mean to look, it was just right there—a picture of Arizona and another woman, pretty with freckles and light brown hair, smiling on top of the space needle. So _that_ was Lucy.

Sweet and smart Lucy, the Lucy that Arizona loved, that Arizona had been dating for four years.

She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and smoothed out her uniform, retying her apron around her waist, masquerading her sad eyes with a smile as she watched Arizona dress. "You've still got the best ass in Georgia," she smirked.

Arizona laughed, pulling her lavender dress on to cover her slim body. "Careful, Calliope, or you'll sign yourself up for round two talking like that."

"I wouldn't complain," she quipped. Half of her ponytail had fallen out of its ribbon during their tryst, framing her face messily. She retied it expertly in one easy motion without a mirror, as if she had done it a million times before.

Arizona smiled warmly, still in a sleepy haze from her climax, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Callie once they were both fully dressed again. "Will you… will you call me tonight? On your walk to the bus?"

"I can do that," Callie smiled, kissing the blonde's forehead gently before pulling away. "You didn't eat your pie."

"It's just about the ugliest pie I've ever seen, Callie," Arizona giggled, popping a marshmallow into her mouth. "You gonna feed it to the customers?"

"No, I'm baking something else. I don't want to make anyone sick."

Arizona's nose wrinkled. "You're so mean. I'd start another food fight, but I really gotta go," she frowned a little bit, not wanting to leave so soon. "Have a good day, okay? I'll talk to you tonight. Don't forget."

Callie squeezed her hips. "I promise," and then she let go of her, and Arizona was out the door, glancing over her shoulder with one last wistful smile before leaving her in silence.

She went to work quickly, cleaning up the mess they had left before any of her coworkers arrived to open up at noon. The church crowd always cultivated their busiest day of the week, and she prayed that today's sermon had been about the godliness of generosity so she could stash away a few extra tips for the pie contest.

She went through the motions of preparing a Dutch raspberry pie for the day without actively thinking about it, muscle memory guiding her through it. Sugar, butter, flour. Brown sugar and red berries that stained her fingers and cream cheese. Roll the dough, crimp the edges. Easy as pie.

She held a raspberry in the palm of her hand, studying it for only a moment. Her free hand fell to her abdomen to cradle it. That was the size of her baby, Arizona had told her.

_Her baby. _

And she smiled, because for the first time, the thought didn't scare her quite as much.

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to let everyone know that the pie contest Addison tells Callie about in chapter 4 has been revised to take place in December, and not "next month" (October). I reworked the timeline I have set for this story into something that feels more organic and that I like better :) it's a minor detail but I just wanted to mention it!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm not big on writing smut usually, so I'm sorry if it isn't great, but this felt like an important moment in their story to tell rather than allude to, since it's their first time reconnecting. **

**I hope you're still enjoying and excited for this story. The reviews make my day every single time, so let me know what you think! have an incredible week guys :)**


	7. Chapter 7

_It was drizzling in mid-August, the kind of hot, sticky rain that drowned carefully kept flower beds and evaporated off black-topped pavement in hazy waves. Children would jump from puddle to muddy puddle and coat themselves with grime on their walks to school, and the smell of wet dog and freshly overturned dirt would take days to leave the small town's air. _

_Arizona, baby-faced and only 18, pressed her forehead against the taxi cab's backseat window, watching her hometown blur by for what she hoped would be the last time. _

_Today was the first day of the rest of her life. _

_She was leaving Sweetwine. She was actually doing it. She was trading in seedy gas stations and gravel roads for the seaside towns and huge libraries and lighthouses of northern Rhode Island. _

_The strenuous hours of ACT prep work and AP classes and extracurriculars and volunteer hours had been worth it. Her and her closest friend, Alex, had been at each other's throats for four years over the valedictorian title, but Arizona had ultimately come out on top. She was attending an Ivy League on a full ride scholarship, the first ever in her family to attend college, and her head was buzzing, making her feel drunk with excitement. _

_She couldn't wait for the crisp air and openmindedness and snow—real snow—that was waiting for her up north. Her parents had scrapped together enough money to buy Arizona her first ever heavy winter coat as a departing gift, and she had packed it away neatly in her suitcase, currently thrown in the trunk of the taxi next to Callie's._

_Callie. That was the very best part. Callie was moving with her, set to attend an acclaimed culinary school only a few miles from Brown University, and they would finally be free to come out of hiding, to love one another openly, to begin building their beautiful new life together. _

_It was going to be perfect. _

_Arizona turned to face her girlfriend, whose own eyes were pasted to the window and watching the outside world, and reached for her hand, offering her a warm, loving smile when she shifted to look at her. Callie had been quiet the entire ride to the airport. Pensive, a little stoic. Arizona figured the nerves over their first ever plane ride were getting to her. _

"_Look," the blonde said suddenly, hoping to distract Callie from whatever thoughts were bugging her. She pulled a pack of gummy bears out of her bag, letting them fall haphazardly in the brunette's lap, and shot her a toothy grin. "For the flight. It's a few hours long, and I really didn't want us to be stuck with just pretzels the whole time," her nose crinkled in distaste. _

_When it failed to make Callie smile even a little bit, she shifted uncomfortably, before switching up her tactic. _

"_Do you think we can ride a sailboat in Rhode Island? I've always wanted to do that."_

_Nothing. _

_She exhaled softly through her nose. She had never seen Callie's face, usually so expressive and full of fire, so blank before. She looked empty. Different than nervous. "Calliope? Are you okay?" She worried her lower lip between her teeth and fidgeted with her girlfriend's hand, a habit she had picked up long ago. _

"_Yeah," but Callie's voice broke as she said it, and she tore her eyes away from Arizona to watch her window once more, stomach clenching tighter and tighter the closer they got to the airport. _

_Arizona tipped their driver when they arrived at drop-offs, thanking him with a dimpled smile before crawling out of the beaten-up cab. She grabbed her suitcase, and then Callie's, passing it to the brunette before blue eyes distractedly skimmed over the sea of signs surrounding them. She had never flown before, and the airport was a bit intimidating. "I think we check in over here," she started walking, and it took her a few moments to realize Callie wasn't following her. _

_She turned around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Baby, c'mon, we're gonna be late," she coaxed gently, face falling when her eyes landed on Callie's._

_She was crying. Just standing there in silence, sad tears in her eyes, not moving. _

_Arizona was next to her in a second. "Hey, hey," she moved to wipe a stray tear off her cheek. "Hey, it's okay. Please don't cry." She attempted to rub her back in soothing circles, but Callie jerked away from her touch as if it had burned her._

"_I can't get on that plane with you, Arizona." _

_Arizona's mouth ran dry. "What?" She tried in vain to step closer to her girlfriend, not yet comprehending what was going on. "I know this is scary," the blonde tried. "And it'll be hard at first, and we may have to sleep on the floor of a shitty apartment for a while, but it'll be okay." Arizona dimpled, always the optimist. "Because we'll have each other. Okay? So let's get on the plane and eat some gummy bears and talk about it there."_

_That only made Callie cry harder. The Latina shook her head and stepped further away, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm not going," she said firmly, wiping hot tears off of her cheeks, getting ahold of herself. It was like a mask had gone up, turning her emotions off in the process, and those warm brown eyes glazed over, turning cold. "You go. And you take care of yourself."_

"_Callie," Arizona's voice was weak. Scared. "I don't want to go without you. I need you with me, okay?" Indigo eyes shined with unshed tears. _

_But Callie stood her ground, seemingly unphased by the sound of her confused pleas. "No, you don't need me," she insisted, refusing to look her in the eyes. She could barely choke out the next words. "I can't… I can't do this anymore. You and me."_

"_Why are you doing this?" Arizona was the one crying now, tears freely spilling over. It was rare for the blonde to wear her emotions on her sleeve, especially so publicly, but it felt like she was being physically torn into two pieces. "We were fine just last night. What did I do wrong?"_

"_You didn't do anything wrong," the Latina swallowed thickly. "I was… I was just having fun, experimenting a little, but now high school's over and it's time for me to grow up."_

_Arizona's heart squeezed painfully, and she tried to suck in a breath of air. "I don't believe that. I don't believe you. I love you and you love me and there's no way that—" _

"_I don't love you."_

_The words were simple. Concise. And they carried enough strength to break whatever remaining part of Arizona still clung to an ounce of hope. "I don't believe you," she repeated, messily wiping hot tracks of tears off of her face, trying to convince herself more than she was Callie. "You said you loved me and that we'd be together forever and that—" _

"_I lied." _

_Arizona had never seen Callie so callous before, so unsympathetic. It broke her. She begged, "Callie…"_

"_I never loved you, not in that way. I like boys. Okay? So this is over. I'm really sorry." _

_Arizona shook her head. She was so stupid. So fucking stupid. The devastation and desolation she felt was replaced, momentarily, by white-hot anger, a much easier emotion for the blonde to stomach. "I fucking hate you," she choked out, but she knew it was a lie even as it left her mouth. She loved her. She loved her so much she could feel her entire body drowning in it._

_She could see the way her words made Callie wince, but then she was steeling her face once again. "You're going to be such a good doctor, Arizona," she said softly, and Arizona hated her even more for being so nice even as she was ripping her heart out. "You be safe, okay?"_

_It felt like she couldn't breathe as Callie spun to walk away from her, away from the love they had built over their eleven years together, and towards the curb outside to catch a taxi. "Please don't go," she knew she was begging, and she knew she looked pathetic. She was in the middle of an airport, distraught and sobbing over someone that didn't even love her. _

_Callie didn't even turn around to look at her._

"_Callie, please," she could feel herself start to shake. She wanted to run after her, to beg her to take all of it back, but she couldn't move. She couldn't even speak. _

_And then Callie disappeared from her line of vision for good, and her remaining composure crumbled._

_She could barely breathe. Passersby would probably think someone had died, and Arizona was fairly certain she would have handled that better. She struggled for air, ragged gasps between muffled cries as she walked in a trance toward the ticket counter, body moving on autopilot._

"Arizona?"

_How much of it had been real? Had Arizona imagined everything between them, made it up in her head? She was fairly certain it was impossible to conjure up a feeling that strong on command. She felt dirty. Ashamed. She hiccupped quietly, trying to control her emotions, trying to stop trembling so much, trying to pretend the world hadn't just been ripped from beneath her feet, trying, trying, trying. _

"'Zona…"

_And how was she ever supposed to live without Callie? Her Callie, kind and strong, a beacon of light. Her best friend in the entire world. The only person on earth who knew everything about her, that could make her laugh until her ribs ached. Her Callie._

_She hated her. But, God, did she love her. _

"Arizona, wake up."

Blue eyes shot open and she inhaled, grateful when the oxygen she had been deprived of in her nightmare finally filled her lungs. A hand fell to her forehead and she tried to orient herself, frowning when she found herself cold and covered in sweat.

"You're shaking, Z," Lucy said from beside her, voice laced with concern. "Are you okay? Are you sick?" She reached out to feel Arizona's skin, and the blonde flinched at the contact, still tense and a little distressed from her dream.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry for waking you," she rubbed her tired eyes before straining them to see the clock in the dark. Half past 4 AM. Adrenaline was still coursing through her and she could feel her heart hammering against her ribs, and she knew there was no possible way she'd get back to sleep anytime soon. She blindly pressed a kiss to the side of her girlfriend's face in the dark and crawled out of bed. "I think I'm gonna go for a run."

"It's still dark out," Lucy mumbled, voice thick with sleep. "Just be safe."

"I always am," she pulled on a black pair of leggings and a cream-colored sweatshirt as quickly and quietly as possible. She realized her hands were trembling when she went to lace up her tennis shoes, and she balled them into fists to stop them.

She turned to leave, then remembered something suddenly.

"Your big surgery's today?"

"Yeah," she could hear the smile in Lucy's tired voice, and she felt awful for forgetting. "I'll be home late. I finally get to scrub in with Yang." The younger girl had been gushing about the head of cardio at the hospital since her very first day.

"Good luck. Go be awesome."

"I always am," and Lucy was drifting off back to sleep.

The blonde let a soft sigh escape her, then quietly gathered her things and left.

Her girlfriend was right, it was still dark outside. And quiet. As her feet pounded against the sidewalk pavement, she found herself hyperaware of her surroundings and a little jumpy. Every shadow felt menacing, every noise a threat. No wonder Callie always called during her late-night walks.

Callie. Just the thought of her filled her with warmth.

It had been eleven days since their Sunday morning rendezvous in the diner, and they had talked on the phone every single night since. Callie called at 11:30, like clockwork, and Arizona would get sickeningly smiley each time her phone rang. Hearing that voice had quickly morphed into her favorite part of the day.

They talked about everything and nothing—how work went, the new pies Callie was thinking up in her head, the TED talk on fetal surgery Arizona had watched the night before. Callie would ramble about Addison and Mark and Jo and Richard and the rest of the familiar faces at the diner, and Arizona would share funny stories from her college days, and it was so easy, so _natural, _the way that they taught one another about their new lives.

They never talked about the airport though. Never that. And they glossed over the subject of Luke and Lucy every time.

Twice in the past eleven days, Arizona's lunch break had aligned perfectly with Callie's, and the brunette had easily sweettalked her into stealing away for a visit.

So she'd bring a lunch to share, and the two would spend the hour in the front seat of Arizona's Lexus, parked in the empty alley behind the diner. They would eat and flirt and laugh together, and it always began innocently enough.

And then hands would inevitably drift between knees, and lips would meet, and their lunch would fall forgotten to the floorboard.

It was always quick and discreet and hot. _God, it was hot. _More than once, Arizona had found herself daydreaming about Callie and what they did behind those tinted windows while she was midst conversation with April or Teddy, and her cheeks would always flush bright pink when she finally snapped out of it.

She ached for more, though.

She wanted white bedsheets and waking up slow in the morning and time. Time to worship every inch of Callie, time to savor the way she made her feel, time to let herself come completely unraveled under her fingertips. They were always constrained, forced to rush and put themselves back together neatly once their breaks ended, forced to rush and hang up the phone when Callie made it home each night.

It was excruciating and frustrating but better—_so much better_—than when Callie hadn't been in her life at all. Arizona would happily take her in these small doses, these secret moments, over and over again if it meant she could have even a small piece of the brunette.

It was a bit pathetic and a lot erroneous, she knew that. She felt awful about it, but she couldn't stay away, couldn't say no, not when it came to her.

Arizona wiped sweat off of her forehead as she ran, her heart hammering against her chest and her legs starting to twinge with exhaustion as she approached the empty field she used to play softball in as a kid. She slowed to a stop and slumped down against a tree to catch her breath, not minding the grass stains and dirt.

The sun would be rising soon, and she really needed to get going. She needed to take a shower and change before work, needed to get back to being the perfect, smiley doctor the town knew her as.

But for now, she let her head rest against the bark of the tree, and she let her eyes soak in the southern sunrise she had, deep down, missed for so many years. No city lights to obstruct her view—just marbled orange and vibrant pink and a deep red sun coloring the world. She let the quietness envelope her, let it squeeze her into a hug like an old friend, and she finally let her heart fill with the one feeling she had denied it access to for years and years.

It was small, for now, just beginning to seep into the cracks Callie had left. Maybe it had never gone away in the first place, lying dormant until sparked into an inevitable relapse.

Either way, Arizona was undeniably certain she would never, despite her greatest efforts, be able to stop loving Calliope Torres.

* * *

"Girls!"

The sharp squeal that erupted from Jo's mouth made Callie jump, and she cursed under her breath when she bumped her hip on the corner of a table. She rubbed it to soothe the sharp sting and furrowed her brows at her coworker. "Christ, this better be good," the brunette mumbled to Addison, and the two girls laughed under their breath before turning to look at their younger friend.

Jo was _beaming_, a soft glow radiating off of her, and visibly bouncing with excitement.

"You're late, Wilson, second time this week," Mark yelled from the back of the kitchen, but Jo just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hush, I had a good reason today," she assured, brushing off the scolding from her boss. She held her hand out for the rest of the waitresses to see, eyes gleaming. A small, but pretty, ring adorned her hand. "I'm gettin' _married!_"

Callie felt herself smile. Jo had been gushing about her boyfriend for months, a dentist a bit older than her from the town over, and she was genuinely happy for her. "He finally popped the question?"

"Yes! At dinner last night. I knew he was acting weird lately."

"Men always act weird, honey," Addison said with a smirk, then opened her arms to hug her. "Get used to that. Welcome to the waitress wives club. We're all miserable here."

"Don't listen to her." Callie rolled her eyes at her friend and cleared off a table, frowning when she realized the only tip left for her had been a couple of spare quarters. She scowled and pocketed the change, trying to stamp down to rising frustration inside her. It had been a long, grueling day, and it was approaching 4 PM, the start of her second shift. "You're gonna make a beautiful bride, Jo," Callie said sweetly, and Jo's smile only widened.

"You'll be my bridesmaids, yeah? It won't be nothing fancy, just a simple ceremony with friends and family. Oh! Cal, you could bake a nice pie for the guests? I always liked pie better than cake anyhow."

She smiled at her enthusiasm, missing that naïve hopefulness, that zest for life. "Of course, sweetie," and she rolled her eyes at the way Jo jumped up and down.

"I can't believe I'm getting married, and to a dentist no less," Jo started to ramble dreamily as she pinned on her nametag and prepared for the start of her shift. "Will y'all come out with me to celebrate tonight? Shots on me."

"Um…" Callie shifted uncomfortably, brown eyes landing on Addison and silently pleading for help. "I don't think I can tonight. Luke will be expecting me."

"Oh," Jo's nose crinkled a bit. "How about Friday night then?"

"I think we have plans then, too," she lied, desperate for a change in subject.

"You're no fun these days, Cal," Jo rolled her eyes. "You haven't come out with us in _years_!"

"I know," she swallowed, shifting her weight nervously. "I'm sorry. I'm just busy." The truth was, Luke didn't often let her out of the house except to go to the store or to work. He had always been controlling, but it had especially reared its head the past few years of their marriage.

"Yeah," Addison jumped to her rescue. She was the only one that knew the truth as to why she had become so isolated, and she was quick to protect her friend. "Don't take it personally, Wilson. But I'll still go out with you."

"Come _on_, Callie? Please?" Jo pressed stubbornly. She knew the younger woman meant well, but the pressure was starting to make her feel a little sick. "Just a few drinks, for an hour or so? I'll buy?"

"I can't drink," Callie finally blurted out, desperate to shut her up. She quickly glanced over her shoulder, ensuring none of the nosey citizens of Sweetwine were eavesdropping, and lowered her voice. "I'm… pregnant. Okay?"

Jo's eyes lit up. "Oh!" Her face morphed into a warm smile, and Callie braced herself for the well wishes and joy she knew was coming. "Why didn't you just say so? Congratulations!"

Callie waved her off, the happiness in her face and voice making her stomach twist. She sorely wished she could be that excited for her own baby. "It's not a big deal."

"Are you kidding me? It's a huge deal! Your first ever baby," her eyes shined. "I can't wait to have my own. Have you thought about names yet? How far along—"

"Jo, you've got customers at table eight," Addison interrupted her, and Jo pouted a bit.

"We'll finish this conversation later. I wanna know _everything_," she vowed to Callie, before rushing to take care of her table.

The Latina dropped her face in her hands and rubbed her temples, feeling a headache forming. "Thanks, Addie," she mumbled, and the redhead shot her a sympathetic smile.

"She means well. But, Jesus, she can be simple." Callie laughed quietly in agreement and stifled a yawn. "Want me to make you a cup of coffee?"

"Can't, but thanks for offering. It's on the bad food list."

Addison smirked. "Y'know, you take pretty good care of that baby for claiming not to care."

Brown eyes rolled, and she unstacked and restacked a pyramid of to go cups, tidying it up. "I just don't want my doctor to be mad at me."

"Mhm," a skeptical brow raised. "Have you written your dear baby letter yet?"

"Hmm?" Callie's brows furrowed in confusion, before she remembered the book Addison had gifted her weeks ago. "Oh. Yeah. I started on it." She was lying.

Addison laughed. "You sure? Considering it's still up on the cookbook shelf. I think it has dust on it now."

Callie rolled her eyes and flushed a little, embarrassed that she had so easily been caught. "That probably means someone's not cleaning the kitchen good enough, huh?" She quipped, and green eyes narrowed at her. "I really don't know what to write, Ads."

"You just have to start it. That's the easy part. _Dear Peanut_…"

"Why did you settle on peanut of all nicknames?" Callie whined, walking side by side her friend as they refilled bottles of sticky syrup for the tables. "It's ugly. Besides, they're bigger now. They're the size of a strawberry this week."

"How do you even know somethin' like that?"

Callie paled, a bit flustered. "I read it in a pamphlet." Another lie. Arizona had told her over the phone last night.

Green eyes watched her suspiciously. Her friend was acting… strange, but she couldn't quite place it. Maybe it was the pregnancy brain. Deciding to drop it for now, "Okay. Have you thought any more about entering the contest?"

At that, Callie smiled, warm eyes glowing. "Yeah. I'm doing it," she said with a firm nod of her head, mind made up. "I've got about twenty-five bucks saved up now, and I don't think Luke will find it, so as long as I can scrap up the rest by December I should make it."

Addison grinned, pride spreading through her. "You're going to win."

Callie's head shook, humble as ever. "I don't know. I sure hope so. I've gotta think of something really special."

"You will, Cal, everything you make is special."

"Don't flatter me." The sharp snapping of fingers across the diner pulled them out of their conversation, and Addison rolled her eyes sharply at the rude customer before starting towards them.

"Fix your face, Red," Mark warned, passing off a plate of Belgian waffles to her to deliver.

"Shut up," Addison hissed venomously to her boss, before plastering on a smile so fake it could have been spotted twenty miles away. It made Callie laugh. Somehow, she always made her feel a little better.

She tightened the ribbon in her hair and began checking on her customers, refilling Cokes and asking about days and baring her white teeth in a dazzling smile. She even smiled and batted her eyes at the men at table two, with wandering gazes and touchy hands, and swallowed the bile in her throat when they made unwelcome comments about her ass. Normally she wouldn't have stood for it, but she really, really needed the tips, so she kept that stupid, demure smile on her face and pretended it wasn't happening.

When she returned to check on them five minutes later, their table was abandoned, plates scraped clean, and a phone number lazily scribbled on the $32 bill. No money in sight. They had skipped out on paying, and the steadily rising frustration in her finally snapped.

She knew the unpaid bill was coming out of her check. It was just how it worked. They had all been the unlucky victims of dine and dashers at some point, but _fuck,_ this was the last thing she needed right now.

She cleared the table loudly, angrily, slamming plates against one another with shaking hands. Why couldn't she ever catch a break? Customers turned their heads to look at the commotion, but she didn't care. Why should she care? She smiled and served these people day after day after day and she was sick of it, sick of all of it.

"Cal," a low voice beside her said, reaching out to still her shaking hands. It was Mark. "Why don't you take the rest of the day?"

It was only then that she noticed that hot, frustrated, angry tears were rolling down her cheeks. She shook her head, continuing to clear away the table. "I need the hours."

"I said," Mark pressed on, voice quieter than usual to keep from causing more of a scene, and maybe to spare Callie's feelings, too. He cared about his workers, deep down, even if he wasn't great at showing it. "Take the day. That's an order. Let one of the other girls clean this up."

Callie's lower lip wobbled. She was reaching her breaking point, and fast. "I don't really have anywhere to go."

"Find somewhere. Get yourself together. And I'll see you bright and early tomorrow," he gave her an awkward pat on the back before signaling to Jo to take over, and the brunette readily did so, watching her older friend with wide, concerned eyes.

Callie ignored the looks she was getting and kept her head down, trying her hardest to keep herself together. She was exhausted and overworked and so scared, all of the time, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could handle it. She gathered her things and left the diner before anyone could say another word to her, worried that a single word would strip the remaining strength out of her tired body.

She walked in a daze, on autopilot, toward the bus stop, unsure of where to go. Luke would be home, she was sure, but she couldn't face him, not like this. Every other person in her lonely little life was still back at the diner.

All except one.

Her favorite one.

* * *

"Your baby boy looks absolutely perfect, Mrs. Wright," Arizona assured kindly, peeling off her gloves as she finished up her final check-up of the day. "Just under two months until you hold him in your arms. Call me if you think of any more questions, okay?" She dimpled at her patient and handed her a stack of papers. "Teddy will confirm your appointment out front."

It was just after 5 and the clinic was closing up for the night. Arizona had promised her mom to stop by the house for dinner, but she was pretty certain she wouldn't end up staying for more than an hour or two at most. She couldn't wait to just curl up on her couch with a glass of wine and a book and wait for her nightly call, the highlight of her day.

After making a few final notes in her patient's charts, she pulled her cardigan out of her locker and pulled it on over her shoulders. October had brought a slight cool front—nothing too dramatic, but the blonde got a bit chilly during the evenings now. She grabbed her keys and her purse and made a beeline for the back door. "Night, April," she called to her nurse from over her shoulder.

Just as her hand encircled a cold knob, a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks. "It's not an emergency."

"I'm so sorry, ma'am, but Dr. Robbins doesn't take walk-ins unless it's an emergency. Would you like me to set up an appointment for you?" Teddy explained gently, watching the patient in question from behind her glasses.

It was Callie. And it was obvious she had been crying. Arizona's stomach dropped, fearing the worst. "Mrs. Moore?" She interrupted the pair, thankfully remembering to use a professional name. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Callie's voice cracked, and she rolled her shoulders back. "I'm sorry for intruding, Dr. Robbins, I was just hoping you could squeeze me in."

"I'm so sorry," Teddy began to explain. "The clinic actually closes at—"

"It's okay," Arizona quickly assured her receptionist. "Let her back, Teddy, it's okay. Of course we can fit you in. Just follow me." She cleared her throat quietly and lead Callie to an examination room, eyebrows furrowing once the door closed and they were alone.

She turned to look at her, eyes soft and worried, the professional mask falling. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Callie said softly, shaking her head. "Really, nothing, don't start fussing over me. It was just a bad day."

"You were crying," Arizona whispered, reaching out to cradle her tan face gently. She swiped her thumb over the apple of her cheek. "Talk to me, Calliope."

She exhaled. Those tender hands could calm her down every single time, somehow. "I'm scared you'll think of me differently."

Arizona almost laughed. _Almost. _Because it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. Callie could have outright shot her and she'd probably still look at her the same, all moon-eyed and dopey. "It's _me_, Callie."

"I know," she sighed softly, those simple words enough to reassure her. "Everyone I've told about, you know, the baby… they're so excited. So happy. And I'm just not." She crinkled her nose, remembering the way Jo's eyes had positively lit up. "They're talking about picking out names and writing letters and I'm just not there yet, and I'm scared I never will be."

Arizona tilted her head and listened close, hands playing with thick black hair absentmindedly, a hundred percent of her attention going to focusing on Callie. "Is your husband excited?"

"What?" Callie asked, surprised.

"Luke…" Arizona said sheepishly. That name falling from those lips made Callie's chest hurt. "Is he excited?"

"I haven't told him yet."

"Oh." A beat of silence. "Do you think he'll be excited?"

"I don't know. It's hard to tell with him."

"Oh," she chewed on her lower lip. "I bet he will be. Anyone would be happy to have a child with you."

A humorless laugh fell from Callie's lips. God, if Arizona only knew. "Luke's not just anyone." The words sounded like a compliment, but they weren't. Not at all. But Arizona's hand stilled in Callie's hair momentarily and she went quiet.

Callie broke the silence a few minutes later. "I guess I just feel really… disconnected from this baby. And I'm scared I won't be able to love them." Finally saying the words out loud made the Latina's eyes water, and Arizona frowned immediately.

"Hey," she whispered softly, pressing their foreheads together for a second. "Callie, you are the most loving person I've ever met. Ever. You used to rescue ladybugs on the playground. And you cried harder during The Land Before Time than anyone I've ever met."

A shaky laugh. "I felt bad for the dinosaurs."

"Exactly. You felt bad for the dinosaurs. Who does that?" She smiled sweetly, gently touching their noses together before pulling back. "You have a huge heart. Sometimes I think it's too big for your body. I promise you won't have any problem loving this baby." She paused, an idea popping into her head. "Would you… would you wanna hear the heartbeat?"

"My baby's heartbeat?" She hesitated, thinking it over, before slowly nodding her head. "I, um, I guess so."

"Lay back," Arizona instructed her quietly, grateful she had agreed without resistance, and motioned for her to pull up her dress a bit. She squeezed a warm gel onto her abdomen and began carefully sliding the transducer around, indigo eyes locked to the screen in front of her. Callie's nerves dissipated completely when Arizona's dimples appeared suddenly. "Oh, they're cute!" Arizona insisted, smiling warmly. "Cutest fetus I've ever seen, I think."

Callie let out a quiet laugh and rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I bet they all look like chewed up gum." She reached for Arizona's free hand subconsciously after the blonde tilted the screen toward Callie to look, nervous to actually _see_ the child growing inside of her for the first time.

She was surprised when she felt her heart soften. She tightened her grip on the blonde's fingers and blinked a few times, confused as to why she felt like crying. Not in a sad way, either. "That's my baby."

"That's your baby," Arizona beamed.

"Their heart is beating so fast."

"That's normal. They're just excited to meet mama."

Callie smiled. "They are kind of cute."

"I told you. I'm not a liar, Calliope," she giggled quietly, giving Callie a few moments to stare sweetly at the monitor in front of her. "You should see your face. Looks like a loving mother to me."

Callie blushed, tearing her eyes away from the screen and finally letting go of her hand. "Thank you," she whispered.

Arizona crinkled her nose gently and helped wipe the gel off of her stomach. "Don't thank me. Did it help a little bit?"

The Latina pulled her dress back down, watching the shorter woman with warm eyes as she cleaned up the small examination room. "It helped a lot."

"Good. That's what I'm here for." The blonde grinned kindly at her lover, and it melted into a dumb, happy smile when Callie pulled on her wrists, tugging her closer to plant a gentle kiss on her mouth. She hummed against plump lips, and before she could stop herself, her next words were tumbling out. "Are you busy?"

Callie was surprised, primarily because her answer was, for the first time in years, no. Luke wouldn't be expecting her for another six hours, when her shift was supposed to let out. "Depends," the brunette teased, holding Arizona's hips in her hands almost possessively.

Arizona dimpled. "Sounds like a no to me. Come to dinner with me."

"Dinner?"

"Uh-huh," blonde curls bobbed. "At my parent's house. I'm supposed to be there in twenty minutes."

"Oh," Callie's cheeks flushed. She hadn't seen either of the Robbins in _years_, and the thought of seeing the people she had once considered family made her jittery with nerves. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Please?" Blue eyes shined. "Just… as friends, y'know. They'd love to see you. They miss you." _And I really, really want to spend more time with you._

Callie sighed quietly and shook her head and grinned because, god, her soft spot for this woman would never go away, would it? "Okay. But only for your mom's cooking. Why didn't you inherit any of that talent?"

Arizona giggled and bounced excitedly, and the sound of her laughter wrapped its way around the ventricles of Callie's heart, squeezing it in a way that made her feel safe and content and warm and _home_.

Yeah.

It was never, ever going away.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter! please let me know what you think :) i'm excited for Callie to reunite with the Robbins family next chapter, what about you?**

**it's midterm season for me so i apologize sincerely for the slight delay in getting this up. i hope you guys have a great week. take care of yourselves!**


	8. Chapter 8

The summer season left the world abruptly, a cool front invading southern Georgia and pushing sticky, searing air out of the way without warning. Coats and rainboots would be pulled from the backs of closets with the arrival of October, cardigans and pumpkin patches and orange leaves annexing the entirety of Sweetwine, welcomed with open arms.

Barbara Robbins was a martinet for festivity, no matter the holiday. Halloween, Christmas, the Fourth of July—they all warranted her very best decorations, all crafted by hand and used year after year, a friendly, familiar constant on the corner of Lovers Lane and 32nd Street.

The oak tree in front of the quaint yellow house already bore white ghosts, swinging eerily from the branches, and the front porch was lined with mock cobwebs and a few stout pumpkins. As children, Arizona and Timothy would fight tooth and nail over who got to put up the family's famous skeleton, affectionately nicknamed Scary Potter by Arizona, after her favorite book series at the time. One year, after finishing the fifth book, the blonde even dressed him up in a robe and glasses and gave him a stick to hold as a wand, something Callie had subsequently teased her about for years.

"She put up Scary without me," Arizona whined as she shifted her car into park, turning to the woman beside her. Blue eyes effervesced with childlike excitement. "Buuuuut I think we're supposed to carve pumpkins tonight after dinner. It'll be just like old times."

"Not _quite_ like old times," Callie mumbled. Coffee-colored eyes fixated fretfully on the daffodil house in front of her, as if afraid it would break loose from its foundation and strike her at any given moment. "What if they hate me now?"

"Callie, you're you. No one could hate you," golden brows furrowed. She unbuckled her seatbelt to get closer. Her small hand covered tan ones, stilling them as they wrung together nervously in her lap. "Believe me, I tried to. For years. But I just don't think it's humanly possible." She dimpled, and Callie felt her muscles relax on their own accord at the vision.

Callie wrapped her fingers around Arizona's, letting the undemanding touch mollify her. "Are you sure?"

"I'm more than sure," Arizona beamed, stealing a few tiny kisses from her lover before pulling back. They were running a bit late, and her father was a stickler for punctuality. "C'mon, mama made stew and sweet tea."

Callie wrapped her arms around herself nervously as she followed Arizona inside, keeping a safe distance to avoid rousing any suspicion in the older couple. She recited a silent prayer in her head as she trekked up familiar steps, begging God or whoever was listening for gentleness from the Robbins, not that she necessarily deserved it.

The blonde opened the door without knocking, and she heard a motherly, familiar voice before seeing the person it belonged to. That sweet voice alone made Callie feel whole in a way she hadn't in a long, long time. "Oh, sweetheart, you made it! Your father and I were beginning to get worried. Come on in, the cornbread is just—"

"Mama," Arizona interrupted. "I hope, um, I hope there's enough for an extra guest." Pale cheeks flushed, suddenly shy about her mother knowing the truth regarding her history with Callie.

"Of course there's enough, baby, that isn't a problem," Barbara called from the kitchen. Arizona followed the sound of her voice, and Callie followed behind her timidly. "Did Lucy manage to get off of—" the older woman's words died abruptly in her throat when she lifted her head, eyes landing on the woman she had once sincerely viewed as a second daughter.

"Mama, you remember Callie?"

"My god," Barbara was beaming. Surprised, sure, but undoubtedly happy. Her reaction made both younger women relax a bit. Mrs. Robbins pulled her oven mitts off of her hands and opened her arms up, enveloping Callie in the kind of hug only a mother could give. "Callie, dear, how could I ever forget? Look at you. You're glowing!" She pulled back from the hug to look at her pretty face, smiling warmly before looking at her daughter. "Isn't she so beautiful, honey?"

The pink in her cheeks worsened. "Yes, mama," the blonde groaned, feeling like an easily embarrassed teenager again.

Callie was blushing, too. "I'm so happy to see you." She hesitated, then added, "I missed y'all."

"Oh, we missed you too, sweetheart. It's so good to see your face," she pinched Callie's cheeks affectionately, and Arizona felt her heart warm as she watched. She had known her parents would welcome Callie back with open arms, no questions asked, because they loved her, but it was different actually witnessing it in person.

"Where's Daddy?"

As if on cue, the back door opened and Samson came bounding through the house, paws clicking against the hardwood floor as he rushed to greet his new guests. Arizona giggled and dropped to her knees to rub the dog's ears. "Calliope, this is Sammy," she grinned.

"Did someone say Calliope?" a deep voice behind them asked. It was Daniel, hands busy raveling up Samson's red leash and hanging it on its hook by the door. The usually stoic man's gaze landed on Callie, and everyone was surprised to see him break into a real smile, teeth and all. "Well I'll be damned," he laughed and crossed the length of the kitchen, wrapping Callie up in a bear hug, lifting her feet up off the ground momentarily.

Blue eyes widened, and she found herself a bit protective. "Be careful with her, daddy."

"Oh, hush, young lady," Daniel scolded gently, pulling back from the hug to give the Latina a fatherly pat on the shoulder. His composure returned instantaneously, but everyone in the room knew how happy he was, how happy all of them were. It wasn't often that Daniel Robbins smiled or laughed or extended such a friendly embrace.

Arizona bit back a stupid smile. She caught Callie's eyes for a moment, and the pure joy she saw in them melted her.

"Well, let's go eat before it gets cold," Barbara suggested, gently herding the group toward the dining room table. "We have lots of catching up to do."

Barbara insisted on filling their plates with more than enough cornbread and mashed potatoes and steaming beef stew and collard greens, and Callie was suddenly aware of how empty her stomach was. She had been forced to skip multiple meals the past few weeks, and she couldn't remember the last time she had had a warm, nutritious, homecooked meal in front of her. She made sure to take special care to eat slowly, to savor every bite.

"Thank you so much for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Robbins. It's delicious."

Barbara's nose wrinkled. "Oh, honey, when have you ever called us that? We're still Daniel and Barbara. Or mom and dad."

Callie smiled and pushed a lock of black hair behind her ear with her left hand.

"How have you been these days?" Daniel asked, much more open and talkative than compared to their dinner with Lucy. "I can't help but notice the wedding ring."

Callie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Samson was laying at her feet, and sensing her growing anxiety, pawed gently at her leg to calm her. It worked, if only a little bit, and she made a mental note to slip him a piece of cornbread later for being a sweet boy. "I'm married, yes, to my husband Luke. Lucas Moore. He works at the tire shop—"

"On Grand Avenue?"

"Yes," Callie startled a bit. "You…know him?"

"No, I've just had some work done by him," Daniel's response was short. He didn't seem impressed at all. Callie couldn't blame him. "I wouldn't have paired you with him."

She cleared her throat quietly, desperate to change the subject. "And I work at Monday's Place. Y'all should come by for some pie sometime, on the house," she smiled warmly, grateful when Barbara nodded enthusiastically. She hesitated momentarily, setting her fork down to rest her hand on her stomach instead. "And I'm… I'm, um, expecting, actually. A baby. I'm expecting a baby." She kicked herself for how awkwardly it came out. She really needed to practice saying the words out loud.

"Oh," Barbara chimed, before realization sunk in. "_Oh_. Is that how you two… reconnected?" Barbara was more than aware that her daughter was the only OB/GYN in their small county.

"Arizona is my doctor, yes."

"I see," Barbara smiled kindly, reaching across the table to gently pat Callie's hand. "Well, congratulations, honey. You'll make such a beautiful mother."

Something about the way the aging woman said it made Callie believe her. She could tell from the gentle ache in her cheeks that she was smiling. "I hope so."

"Oh, you will," Barbara returned to eating her dinner, waving her hand dismissively. "This might be the closest I ever get to a grandchild, the rate my Arizona's going."

"_Mom!_"

"What?" She asked innocently, popping a shoulder up in a nonchalant shrug. "Four years with this woman and we've only met her once. Just doesn't seem very urgent to me."

The last thing Arizona wanted to do was defend her relationship to her mother over dinner, and especially not in front of Callie. "It's really no one's business besides mine and Lucy's." She caught those brown eyes and hoped Callie could see the silent apology in them.

The truth was, Arizona and Lucy had never even discussed having children. The blonde quickly changed the subject every time her girlfriend brought up even marriage, let alone having a baby together. She wasn't sure why she suddenly wanted, _needed_, to tell Callie that so badly. It didn't matter, she knew. It didn't change anything, but she was overwhelmed with the abrupt desire for the brunette to know, and it scared her a little. She bit the inside of her cheek and changed the subject instead. "Can you make a fire tonight, daddy? While we carve the pumpkins?"

"Of course. It's tradition."

Arizona's dimples appeared, but Barbara frowned worriedly. "Oh, I only got three pumpkins for tonight. I didn't know we'd be having a fourth," she began to clear the table as they finished eating. "Callie, honey, you can take mine."

"That's really not necessary," the brunette insisted. She stood up, immediately helping Mrs. Robbins carry the empty plates to the kitchen. "I'm more than happy to just watch." She began to clean the dishes for the older woman, and Barbara smiled at her, admiring her giving spirit.

"Shut up, Calliope, we'll share my pumpkin," Arizona argued from the dining room, making everyone laugh. The blonde followed her dad outside to help kindle the fire, leaving Callie and Barbara all alone to clean the kitchen.

Her nerves returned momentarily when she realized Arizona wasn't around to protect her. They disappeared immediately, though, when an affectionate hand touched her shoulder. "My sweet child," Barbara said softly, and Callie turned to look at the aging woman's face. A sharp sting of guilt for abandoning them for so long hit her, but she quickly repressed it.

She had done what she needed to do at the time, and she wouldn't keep kicking herself for it. She couldn't. But she _could_ rebuild what she had broken, and she was determined to do precisely that.

Her brown eyes softened and she hugged the older woman, overcome by how nice it felt to have that motherly comfort again, free of any judgement whatsoever. It was pure, unselfish love. She hadn't known how much she had missed it until it was in her arms again. "I'm sorry," she whispered into a thin shoulder.

"None of that," Barbara insisted, rubbing her back to comfort her. "We're just happy to finally have you back." Callie sniffled. "Help me carry some hot apple cider outside, dear?"

The brunette happily obliged, carefully balancing two steaming cups of cider in each hand and following Barbara to the backyard. It still looked more or less the same—a beautifully kept garden speckled with bird baths and hummingbird feeders and colorful little clay garden gnomes that had freaked Callie out as a child, windchimes and outdoor string lights hanging above her head, a picnic table in the middle of the yard lined with citronella candles, a fire pit with a perimeter of gray stones. The small treehouse she and Arizona had spent countless nights in as kids was still standing somehow, though the wood appeared to be rotting now.

She handed a cup of cider to Arizona, her face glowing a pretty orange in the firelight. "You missed it, Calliope, I lit it all by myself," she flashed her white teeth, beaming with pride, and Callie let out a laugh at the way her father rolled his eyes.

"Something tells me you had a _little_ help," she teased, passing off a cup to Daniel, who winked cheekily at her. She shivered a little at the cool air and sat on a stone beside the blonde, feeling their legs brush.

"You want my cardigan?" She offered sincerely, and the brunette blushed and shook her head.

"I'm okay for now. The fire feels good," she sipped her apple cider, letting it warm her from the inside out. "I think our jack-o-lantern should be scary. With big teeth and everything."

"No," the blonde argued with a subtle pout. She had always hated the dark, scary parts of Halloween. She much preferred the Christmas season. She would never say no to the candy or cute costumes, though. "I wanna carve a kitty cat."

"A cat? Really?"

"Yes, with whiskers and a cute little nose."

"And big scary teeth?"

Her nose scrunched. "I guess I can meet you in the middle. As long as I get my whiskers."

Callie laughed and rolled her eyes, the pair easily slipping into their own little world. "I've never met a bigger baby in my life."

Arizona narrowed her blue eyes. "I'm not a _baby_. I'm just…sweet."

Callie's brow arched and she smirked, quickly biting back the inappropriate comment on the tip of her tongue. They weren't alone, she quickly remembered. "Whatever you say, Robbins," she settled for instead, extending their eye contact a little longer than what could safely be considered friendly.

Arizona's mouth ran dry and she laid down her cup of cider, reaching for their medium sized pumpkin instead, dying for the air to stop feeling so stifling. She both loved and hated how easily things could escalate between them—it was addictive, but it was dangerous. _Friends_, she silently reminded herself. In front of her parents, in front of anyone else, they were friends.

After sawing off the crown with relative ease, she rolled up her sleeves and crinkled her nose, mentally preparing herself for the slime she was about to unearth. She delivered babies daily, cut into mothers to perform emergency C-sections, but somehow _this,_ the guts of a pumpkin, grossed her out more.

Callie held back her laughter unsuccessfully. "Do you… need help?"

"…Maybe."

"It's just a pumpkin, Arizona," Callie laughed and reached her hands in, scooping it out and tossing it into the discard pile Arizona's parents had already started.

The blonde almost gagged. "That's… gross. So gross." She visibly shuddered, and Callie rolled her eyes and plopped a handful of pumpkin seeds and fibers into Arizona's unsuspecting hand. She squealed and dropped it as if it had burned her. "_Callie_!" Blue eyes narrowed. "I trusted you. That was mean."

The brunette giggled. "You're a doctor and you're scared of a pumpkin? Really? You sure you can deliver my baby?"

Arizona wiped her slimy hand on the grass, nose scrunched. "Your baby is cuter than a pumpkin."

"Even a pumpkin with a kitty cat on it?"

"Even that."

Callie smiled. "Come here, just try it. It's not that bad." She scooted over a little to make room for her lover, and Arizona sighed quietly before giving in. She hesitated before reaching her hands in, helping Callie clean the pumpkin with a pained look on her face. It was probably one of the cutest things Callie had ever seen, but she held that thought in as they went about their work.

Neither noticed the way Arizona's parents watched them, or the knowing looks they silently exchanged between each other.

They relished in each other's closeness, stealing whispers and giggles now and then. Arizona helicoptered over Callie's shoulder as she sketched out a scary cat with a magic marker, scolding her when she made the teeth a little sharper than she would have liked. The blonde carved it out perfectly after that, following the lines Callie had made. They lit a tea candle and popped it inside, both women grinning when their cat finally came to life.

"What should we name him?" Callie asked.

"What makes you think it's a him?"

"Look at him! He's handsome."

"Well _I_ think _she_ is _beautiful._"

"You're so annoying."

"Maybe," Arizona grinned, teeth shining up at the taller woman cheekily. Callie's hand rested on her waist instinctively, neither noticing its placement. "I think she looks like a Casper."

"Isn't Casper a boy?"

"Shh."

Callie laughed. "Fine, Casper the scary cat pumpkin it is." She moved to touch Arizona's hair, only then noticing she was covered in pumpkin and black sharpie.

Her clothes were, too, and grass and Samson's fur and ashes from the fire. Her nose crinkled.

There was no way she could go home to Luke like this.

She swallowed and pulled back, and as if reading her mind, Arizona quickly chimed in. "Hey, let's wash your clothes up before you go," she offered, and Callie felt relief flood her. Arizona was always so observant, so reverent, so _perfect._ She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to understand how she always somehow knew what Callie needed.

"There's some spare clothes in Arizona's old bedroom, darling," Barbara offered. The older woman stifled a yawn. It was after 9 and late for her and Daniel's standards, but they wouldn't miss spending time with their daughter or Callie for anything. "I'll help with the laundry."

"Mama, you're sleepy," Arizona pouted. "Y'all get some rest, okay? I'll take care of her," she promised, gathering their empty cups of cider to take inside.

"Goodnight, girls," Daniel said. "I had fun tonight. Don't you be a stranger, Callie," he commanded, giving each girl a quick kiss on the forehead before retiring to his bedroom for the night.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Barbara worried.

"Mama, I've got it," she laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to her mother's cheek. "Thank you for tonight. I'll see you soon," she promised, cleaning up their mess.

"Thank you so much, Barbara," Callie said sincerely, hugging the older woman for the third time that night. "I'll, um, see you…?"

"Soon, I hope, dear," Mrs. Robbins smiled sweetly. "You're welcome anytime. Our house has always been yours." She gestured to the two of them as she walked down the hallway. "Sweet dreams and drive safe, sweet girls. Love you."

When the bedroom door clicked closed, a breath fell past Arizona's lips. "God, that was hard," she whispered, quickly pressing a kiss to Callie's mouth before leading her down the hall. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up," she said sweetly. She pushed her childhood bedroom door open with her hip, collecting an oversized Yale School of Medicine sweatshirt that her father had bought out of pride upon Arizona's acceptance from a drawer and tossing it at Callie. "Go shower, you smell like smoke," she giggled.

Callie rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the overwhelming feelings that flash flooded her upon being in Arizona's room again. The white sheets with pink flowers, the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling, the pictures of the two of them that still sat in frames on her bedside table, it all brought back so much. "You don't smell much better."

"I'd join you in the shower, but I gotta wash your uniform," Arizona pouted, batting her stormy eyes at her. The brunette just smirked, peeling the light blue dress off of her body and pitching it toward her. Her bra and panties were next, and Arizona almost moaned out loud at the vision before her.

"Be fast," Callie smirked, pressing a slow kiss to her pink mouth, before sauntering toward the bathroom connected to the guest room. "Arizona?" She called from the doorway, her voice sounding a bit smaller than she meant for it to. When blue eyes met hers, she smiled sweetly. "Thank you, by the way."

Arizona melted, the lust burning deep within her giving way to something softer, something sweeter. "Thank _you_," she whispered back, promptly disappearing down the hallway to the laundry room to throw a quick load in.

When she returned, the sound of the shower running and Callie's soft humming in the bathroom almost tempted her into joining, but something inside of her stopped her.

She knew what would happen if she took that route. They would undoubtedly fuck, and it would be quick and hot and passionate and dirty and mind-blowing, just like it always was, just like in the kitchen and in Arizona's car.

But she didn't want that. Not tonight.

She laid down in her twin sized bed instead, staring up at the stars on her ceiling, counting them over and over the way she always had when trying to fall asleep as a teenager, the comforting sound of Callie humming _Georgia On My Mind_ lulling her into a dreamy slumber before she even realized she was falling asleep.

The gentle dip of the mattress woke her from her light sleep less than ten minutes later, and she rubbed her tired eyes and turned her neck to look at Callie, hair wet and dressed in nothing but the Yale sweatshirt she had loaned her. "God, you're so beautiful," she whispered quietly, scooting over to make room for Callie to lay beside her.

"If you're into the whole wet dog look, maybe," she laughed, opening up her arms to pull Arizona closer, and they melted together perfectly, cuddling for the first time in ages.

The blonde laid her head on her chest, dropping little kisses to her neck. "Stop it," she scolded her softly, lips muffled against her warm skin. "You always do that when I compliment you."

Callie's hand played lazily with Arizona's hair, twisting and untwisting blonde curls around her fingers. Her lips fell into a frown, one that Arizona reached up to kiss away. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll try not to."

"Thank you," Arizona kissed her again, small hands sliding up Callie's sweatshirt, caressing her sides tenderly. The brunette's lips fell open and she turned on her side, pressing closer to that lithe body as they kissed, slowly and affectionately, taking their time to truly enjoy one another.

A shiver shot up Callie's spine when Arizona sucked on her tongue, and the blonde ghosted her fingertips down her back slowly, feeling every gentle ridge of her vertebrae, memorizing the hills and valleys of her lover.

When they pulled away from the kiss, eyes were hooded and lips were swollen and Arizona grinned melodiously, lashes fluttering as cobalt eyes fixated on the object of her affections. "You're all I ever think about," she confessed quietly, making herself vulnerable. It was terrifying. It felt like exposing her jugular to her biggest predator and taunting _come and get me._

Callie swallowed, the pad of her thumb ghosting over a sharp jawline. "Me too," the Latina admitted gently, and some of that terror vacated Arizona's body. She sighed softly, sadly, and captured her lips in another kiss, claiming Callie as hers if only for a moment.

Plump lips moved down a pale neck, fashioning a trail of wet kisses, careful not to leave any permanent marks. A breathy moan escaped her and she started to wiggle, squeezing full hips in her hands. "I want…"

"Hmm?" Callie hummed against her pulse point, the gentle vibrations sending a jolt of arousal through her body that nearly jerked Arizona off the bed.

"I want to make love to you," she whispered huskily, heart hammering against her ribcage. "Slowly. I want to take my time with you."

Callie swore she could have come right then and there. "Your parents…" She worried her lower lip between her teeth.

"We can be quiet. It'll be like old times," Arizona smirked, pressing her thigh between Callie's legs and giggling under her breath at the moan that fell wantonly from her mouth.

The brunette tugged gently at the doctor's scrub bottoms, giving in easily. "You're a good negotiator," she laughed, and Arizona quieted her with a kiss, wiggling out of her pants and kicking them onto the floor like Callie wanted.

They undressed one another slowly, between sloppy kisses and breathless whines and a few quiet giggles. Arizona finally tugged Callie's sweatshirt off, freeing those voluptuous breasts with a gentle bounce, and she wrapped her lips around a pebbled nipple and sucked softly, kneading her other breast in her hands.

Callie arched her back off the mattress, dark eyes fluttering closed. "Arizona…" She sighed, tangling her hand in blonde locks. The blonde pressed her thigh against slick folds, the friction of it sending sparks through the Latina's hypersensitive body. "C'mere," she whispered, tugging on the blonde's thin hips, repositioning the woman on top of her so that their legs were scissored.

Arizona's head fell back, long blonde hair scraping her lower back, when their pussies pressed against one another, the friction against her swollen clit knocking the breath out of her. "Fuck," she whimpered, steadying herself by holding onto the headboard above Callie's head. She rolled her hips forward to meet Callie's, the pair easily finding a common rhythm.

Callie palmed Arizona's bouncing breasts, head thrown back to expose her delicate neck. Arizona kissed it habitually, feeling the vigor of her pulse beneath her mouth. "Baby, I'm gonna…" Callie warned, thighs trembling a bit from the intensity of their slippery folds working against each other.

"Not yet," the blonde choked out, rolling off of the brunette and onto the bed again. Callie whined at the loss of contact, opening her mouth to protest, but she was quickly shut up with a kiss and Arizona's fingers on her puffy clit. She was grateful Arizona's mouth was on hers to muffle the animalistic noise that escaped her at the connection.

Arizona giggled against her mouth, kissing down her body slowly, tongue trailing over her salty-sweet skin. Callie was surprised when the blonde paused at her stomach, concentrating tiny kisses there and giggling against her abdomen. "Hi little baby," she said sweetly, looking up at Callie with a mischievous glint in her eyes and a smile.

The butterflies that filled her stomach at the simple gesture took her by surprise, but before she could wrap her mind around how wholesome, how sweet it was, Arizona was moving on, preoccupied with worshipping Callie's beautiful body. And she wasn't complaining. She reached for a pillow and bit down on it, an old trick she had learned that helped keep her quiet, and just in time for Arizona to lick a straight line up her slit.

A guttural moan escaped her and her hips jerked, her primal desire for the woman beneath her clouding every single thought in her mind. Arizona ate her out almost torturously, purposefully building her up to the cusp of bliss and then relenting, never quite letting her reach the point of no return. It was good, _so fucking good_, but it was driving her crazy with frustration, her whole body starting to tremble after the third time Arizona pulled away. "Arizona," she hissed through clenched teeth. She reached for delicate wrists and tugged them upward, sighing in relief when she surrendered and slithered up her body and pressed a kiss to her swollen mouth.

"Sorry," the blonde whispered sheepishly, cheeks flushed, chest heaving from breathlessness. "I just don't want this to end," she admitted, ghosting little kisses across her parted lips. "I don't know when I'll get to have you again like this."

Callie's face fell a little, understanding instantly what she meant. Her heart seized in her chest and she brushed a strand of sweaty hair away from Arizona's full cheeks. She couldn't promise her another time like this—intimate and slow and on their own terms—and that pained her. "I wish things were different," she admitted quietly, and she didn't miss the way blue eyes started to shine, Arizona blinking rapidly to get rid of it.

"Me too," she sighed, pressing a sad kiss to Callie's collarbone. "Can I just… pretend for a few minutes that you're mine? Is that… Would that be okay?"

"Yeah," Callie choked out, swallowing the painful lump in her throat. "Come here," she pulled the smaller woman to her, pressing a shameless kiss to her pink lips, hoping that every little thing she was feeling she could convey without audibly saying it.

Arizona melted into her, the two women's limbs entangling. Fingers drifted between thighs, sliding into one another simultaneously, desperate to make the other feel good, feel whole, _feel._

When they came unraveled, together, Arizona buried her face in a tan neck and Callie bit down on a pale shoulder and they willed themselves to keep quiet, finally collapsing from exhaustion and curling up in each other's arms as they caught their breath, naked bodies pressed tightly together.

They laid in silence for a few comfortable minutes, Callie tracing little hearts and stars on the blonde's shoulder with her fingertip, mind elsewhere, when Arizona finally broke the silence. "Calliope?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't—" Her voice caught in her throat and she closed her eyes, willing herself to keep her composure. "I can't be another experiment to you. I really think that would break me this time." She sat up a little in bed and pulled her knees to her chest, making herself small.

Callie's face fell. She supposed she should have expected _this_ conversation to come up eventually, but the bile in her throat still burned anyway. She furrowed her brows, extending her arms for the blonde when she moved to pull away. "Hey," she called quietly, the insecure look on Arizona's face unsettling her. She was normally so confident and sure, and it was jarring to see her purposefully shrink herself this way. It felt even worse knowing she had been the cause. "You were never an experiment to me, Arizona. Not ever, okay?"

A lower lip wobbled, and she kept her eyes trained on the pastel wall in front of her, certain if her eyes met Callie's, she would crumble. "At the airport. You said—"

"I know what I said," she interrupted sharply, certain that hearing the blonde repeat those hateful words would be too painful. "And I'm sorry that I said it." Her hand cupped Arizona's face gently, forcing her to make eye contact. "I loved you so much. _So much_. It hurt to breathe sometimes. You have to know that."

But instead of blue eyes softening at the confession, they watered, and a jaw clenched in what was undeniable, white-hot anger. "You ruined us," she choked out, a tear falling down her cheek. She wiped it away roughly with the palm of her hand, embarrassed that she couldn't reign in her emotions. "This could have been our life, Callie. Our baby. I wanted everything with you, and you _ruined_ it."

She jerked her face away from Callie's soft hand, and the Latina's heart broke. She almost started crying, too, but managed to keep herself together. Arizona was still angry, and she had questions, and that was understandable. The least she owed her was answers. "I don't regret that day in the airport."

A humorless laugh fell from the blonde's lips. "Ouch. Alright," she moved to get off the bed, presumably to find her clothes and end their conversation before it could even begin. "Understood."

Callie grabbed her wrist before she could get too far, gently pulling her back down on the bed. "Please listen to me," she pleaded, brown eyes imploring her. Arizona bit the inside of her cheek, but she stayed seated. "I don't regret putting you on that plane because _look at you_, Arizona." She gestured toward her. "You're so beautiful and successful and happy and you did it. Everything you ever dreamed of. And I couldn't be prouder of you."

Her face finally softened, the walls she had quickly built to protect herself falling down just as fast. "I wanted all of it with _you._ That was my dream."

"I know. It was mine, too," she admitted. She tried again to reach for her, pleased when the blonde didn't jerk away from this attempt.

"What changed?"

Callie felt herself tense a little. She never talked about this part of her life. Never. But it was _Arizona_ in front of her, and she trusted her more than anyone else in her life. She wrung her hands in her lap and cleared her throat. "The night before our flight, my parents…" Her voice wavered and she could tell she wouldn't make it through without crying. Arizona was next to her in a heartbeat, wrapping her arms around her, chin resting on her shoulder. It filled her with enough strength to propel her forward.

"My parents sat me down and told me that mama was sick. Really sick. Cancer," she sucked in a breath. "Daddy asked if there was anything I had done that God would need to punish the family for, and I just started crying. I couldn't stop. I thought it was my fault for loving a girl, and I told them that, I told them the truth. About, y'know, us."

Arizona rubbed soothing circles on Callie's back, a sick feeling settling into her stomach.

"And Daddy just lost it. I've never seen him so mad, which is saying a lot. He started throwing things and told me I was going to hell and that I was killing my mother—" she hiccupped, wiping hot tears off her cheeks and sinking into the blonde's embrace, seeking her warmth and comfort. "—and he kicked me out. I gave them every penny I had saved up for Rhode Island to help pay for my mama's treatment, but he didn't care. He wouldn't look at me, wouldn't speak to me, even at her funeral. He still blames me now."

"Callie," Arizona's voice cracked. She was crying, too, upset she couldn't protect Callie from all that she had been through. She kissed her salty tears off of her face, squeezing her close. "Callie, it wasn't your fault, okay? None of it was your fault. Please hear me when I say that."

"I know that now," she admitted quietly, "but somedays it still feels like it is." She wiped her eyes, gaining a bit more self-possession, and sucked in a shaky breath. "I couldn't go to Rhode Island with you because I couldn't afford my tuition, or rent, or _food. _I got a job at the diner and slept on the streets and on random people's couches and in seedy motels for a few months. I was still sending most of my check to my parents to help my mama then. And that's when I met Luke," she shrugged her shoulder. "And he had a stable roof I could live in and a bed I could sleep in and I was desperate."

"You should have told me the truth, Calliope. I could have helped—"

Callie cut her off with a tired laugh. "Arizona, you and I both know you wouldn't have gotten on that plane if I had told you the truth." The blonde's mouth opened to protest, but Callie pushed on. "You protect the things you love, more than anyone I've ever met. I love that about you, but if you had sacrificed your entire future to be _a good man in a storm_ and protect me I never would've forgiven myself. I had to make you hate me to make you go."

Arizona closed her mouth, stunned, momentarily, into silence.

Because Callie was right.

"My parents…?"

Callie only shrugged, rubbing her tired eyes. "I guess I really didn't want God to punish them because of me too."

"I'm so sorry," Arizona said softly, sincerely, her voice cracking. She had spent so long being angry, trying to hate her, questioning every moment they had ever shared together, only to find out that Callie had ultimately sacrificed her out of _love_. Her stomach hurt. "You didn't deserve any of it."

She just shrugged again, pulling Arizona into her arms so they could lay together for a few more minutes before they had to leave. "I'd rather me go through it than somebody else."

That only made Arizona's lip wobble even more. She buried her face into her tan neck. "I'm so sad that things aren't different."

"I am too," Callie whispered, playing with blonde hair to help calm both of them down. "I am too."

Arizona tilted her head back to kiss the brunette, letting her lips linger there longingly. "You're the greatest person I've ever met."

Callie let out a quiet chuckle, shaking her head. "Now you're just being dramatic."

"Hey," blue eyes narrowed sharply, "you promised to stop doing that when I compliment you."

A laugh bubbled out of her chest, and she kissed the blonde's forehead affectionately before pulling away. "We should get going soon. Luke will be expecting me."

Arizona sighed and regretfully slid out of the twin bed, pulling on her clothes quickly. "I'll go get your uniform outta the dryer," she offered, disappearing momentarily and returning with Callie's warm, clean clothes. The brunette dressed quickly, before positioning herself in front of a mirror to retie her hair with her signature ribbon.

Their drive was quiet. They both sat in silence, processing the long day they had shared together, the developments that had transgressed between them. Callie kept a firm grip on Arizona's hand as she drove, thumb brushing over knuckles lovingly. "You can just drop me off at the bus stop closest to my house, and I can walk from there," Callie suggested, and Arizona obeyed, pulling up to the curb beside the abandoned stop.

She rotated in her seat to look at the other woman. "I'm sorry for panicking earlier," she sighed. "I just got scared, I guess." She squeezed Callie's hand and pulled it close to her mouth, ghosting kisses over her knuckles gently. "And thank you for trusting me enough to open up."

Callie smiled amiably. "Don't be sorry. I'm scared, too. This is scary."

"Yeah," the blonde concurred.

Callie closed the distance and kissed her goodnight. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? Not this time. I promise," the brunette vowed against her mouth, and Arizona felt her lips twitch up into a smile.

She made an active choice, then and there, to believe her. To trust her.

"Me either." Another peck to her plump lips, and she pulled back. "Text me when you make it safe?"

"I will. Goodnight."

"Night, Callie," Arizona called out the door as Callie shut it and began her four block walk back to her house.

Callie wrapped her arms around herself, shivering as the midnight chill seeped into her skin as she walked. Her mind was reeling, the unexpected turn the day took leaving her disoriented and dizzy.

They had made love. They had talked, really talked. They had cuddled and laughed and made promises.

Whatever this was between them, it was very quickly spiraling into something out of either of their control.

But Callie found herself not particularly caring. If falling into Arizona was scary and dangerous and out of her control, she would still fall, over and over again, every time.

She neared her front door and slid her phone out of her pocket and her thumbs danced over the 9-digit keypad, typing out a text with ease.

_Home safe. x C_

Arizona's reply came quickly, and she hated the way her heart leapt from the vibration.

_Good. Get some sleep. _

She returned her phone to her pocket and unlocked the door, entering her small home as quietly as possible. If she was lucky, her husband would already be asleep, and she could completely bypass the handsy grabs and cigarette flavored kisses and questions, always so many questions.

Today, she was not lucky.

Luke was not only awake, but he was waiting for her on the couch, surrounded by crushed beer cans and cigarette butts, always a bad sign. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat as she closed the door behind her, ignoring the way her stomach burned, the way every instinctual part of her body screamed at her to _run. _

"Hi, honey, you're awake," Callie pasted on a fake smile, praying he didn't pick up on the shake in her voice. She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, wincing when he roughly grabbed her wrist.

"Don't you _hi honey_ me, you filthy bitch," Luke hissed, and Callie moved to rip her arm away, white hot fear filling her at the tone of his voice.

"W-What's the matter?"

"I thought I'd stop by the diner today. To see my wife, like a gentleman would. Imagine my surprise when I get told she's not there," his nostrils flared, and he gave her a quick, hard shove. "Made me look like a fucking moron. Do you like making me look stupid, Callie?"

"Of course not," she cowered, backing away from him as he neared in on her.

"Where the fuck were you?"

She swallowed, frozen in place.

"Answer me!"

She jumped at his sharp tone, back pressing against the cabin-wood wall behind her. "I was at a doctor's appointment."

Luke snorted. "Bullshit. You ain't sick. Don't fucking lie to me," he raised his hand over his head, seconds away from striking her, when the words that tumbled out of Callie's mouth stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Luke, I'm pregnant."

She was curled up on the floor, hunched over in a position to try and shield her stomach, hands raised over her head in terrified surrender.

"No shit?" Luke asked, dropping his arm as a grin spread over his face. "I'm gonna be a daddy?"

Callie wanted to vomit. She nodded her head in silence. She hadn't planned to tell him so soon, but she had no idea how else to stop him on his warpath and she panicked. "Yeah," she whispered, flinching when the tall man dropped to his knees beside her and pushed her arms out of the way to hold her stomach.

Luke laughed. "I'm gonna be a daddy!" He was excited, a grin on his face that made Callie's blood boil. "My kid's in there." _No_, Callie thought sharply, protectively. _My baby. Mine. _

"I hope he looks just like me. We can name him Luke Junior, don't you think?" _No._

He patted her stomach and she winced, pushing his hands away. "If you ever hit me again," she warned lowly, mustering more strength than she knew was inside her, "I will leave you. And I will take my child with me."

Luke's face fell. "Naw, baby, I didn't mean it. I won't. I swear it. I'm gonna be the best daddy, you'll see," he wrapped her up in a suffocating hug, and Callie couldn't breathe, couldn't think. "I need you, baby. You're all I got." He pressed a beer-scented kiss to his wife's hair, pressing her face to his t-shirt. "You know I love you, don't you?"

She didn't answer.

She let him hold her, body limp, eyes glazed over as she stared at the wall behind him, wishing more than anything that those walls would close in on her and swallow her whole.

She hated him. _Hated _him. This life, this house. It wasn't safe or warm or home and she wanted out.

She wanted Arizona.

She clenched her jaw in set resolve, more determined now than she ever had been to get out, for her own sake, for her child's sake.

She was leaving Callie Moore behind her, no matter what she had to do to get rid of her, and she was crawling back to Calliope Torres, crawling back to her joy and strength and the woman that she had once been.

She would win the contest in December, she had to, and she would move out and open up a sweet little pie shop and take good care of her baby, and she would finally be happy, finally stop punishing herself for her parent's mistakes. She would give her child jack-o-lantern Halloweens and sports teams and rice krispy treats and so, so much more than this.

She would.

Come hell or high water.

* * *

**So sorry for the short break! Midterms were crazy, but I came out with 6 A's, 1 B, and 1 C, which I'm pretty happy with :) I hope all of you have had a great couple of weeks!**

**Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! Reviews really give me the inspiration to keep writing and i'm greedy, what can I say ;) (pretty please?) **

**So much happened with our girls this chapter, and I think things are gonna get a lot harder for them before it can get easier, what do you think?**

**Also, this was the longest chapter yet. Do you guys prefer the longer (6,000-8,000 words) chapters or the ones that are a bit shorter (2,000-5,000 words) or do you not mind either way? Please let me know so I can adjust to what you like more. **

**Take care of yourselves! Drink water and get enough sleep. Thank you as always for reading :) **


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